AUSTRALIA
Armidale Express
By Barney Zwartz
Nov. 12, 2012
THIS journalist has used up a few dead trees in criticising politicians for tardy and inadequate responses to clergy sex abuse of children. So it is with real pleasure that I and surely most Australians congratulate Prime Minister Julia Gillard and her cabinet for calling a royal commission into institutional responses to child sex abuse.
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott, who some cruelly claim takes his orders directly from Cardinal George Pell, also deserves credit for offering the bipartisan support needed to smooth its path.
The details, including the terms of reference, have yet to emerge, but Gillard’s announcement of the scope it will cover – all religions, state care, not-for-profit organisations, schools, child welfare agencies and police – is encouraging.
It’s also encouraging that the PM suggested the inquiry would take as long as it needed. In Ireland the process took nine years but was deeply cathartic. South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission had a similar role.
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