AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald
June 17, 2014
John Warhurst
We are going through very dark times indeed, observing the dark side of too many institutions and individuals on a regular basis. It is no exaggeration to say that almost no institution in Australian society, public or private, left or right, big or small has been left untouched.
My focus is the current major inquiries into aspects of Australian life by royal commissions and/or the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. The list is a long one, including five major subjects of investigation. Each of the inquiries is broad. Most have called numerous witnesses to public hearings. No final reports have yet been issued but the preliminary findings and the content of public hearings all point towards damning conclusions.
The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse is currently sitting in Canberra. Previous inquiries have been held in Melbourne and Newcastle. Its focus has been on the Marist Brothers in particular and the Catholic Church in general. But previous hearings have focussed on the shortcomings of government-run institutions as well as other churches. There have been hearings on the Salvation Army, the Scouts and the YMCA among other organisations. Police and the legal profession have also been implicated. Half or more of the Australian community has an association and/or identification with these institutions.
The NSW Independent Commission against Corruption has been sitting in Sydney to examine a number of cases involving criminal and/or unethical behaviour in public life. It has implicated both sides of major party politics, probably more so the previous state Labor government but Liberals, too. Several former ministers have been implicated in large-scale corruption and many others, including MPs, lobbyists, fund-raisers and party officials have been condemned for their association with dubious if not criminal behaviour. A dark underside to public life has been revealed.
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