AUSTRALIA
Brisbane Times
June 3, 2013
Amanda Vanstone
Former Howard government minister
Surely there can be no one in Australia who wants to give an easy ride to those who abused children or those who helped cover it up. Hopefully the state inquiries and the royal commission will not only uncover some perpetrators but serve to put a stop, if not completely to the crime, then at least completely to institutional cover-up.
Abhorrent as we find both the crime and the cover-up, our shared revulsion in no way entitles or excuses any diminution of our own obligation to conduct inquiries in an exemplary manner.
The more serious the allegation the higher standard there must be on an inquiry. If the gravity of the offence doesn’t stir us into exemplary behaviour then the consequences for the accused should certainly do so. Naturally enough the more odious the allegation the higher the penalty and public opprobrium for the alleged perpetrator. Imposing penalties and opprobrium of a deep and long-lasting kind on our fellow citizens is not something we should take lightly. And we don’t.
Your freedom and mine rests on the simple principle that we are each innocent until proven guilty. We demand that the state makes its case before a penalty is imposed or someone’s liberty is restrained.
In that context, coverage of the Victorian parliamentary hearings at which Cardinal George Pell appeared were a cause of some concern. Parliamentary inquiries of course are not courts. Direct allegations are generally not being made; rather, information is being sought. Those appearing before inquiries do not have the opportunity to test either the relevance or veracity of what is said about them by others.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.