AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald
Jane Lee
Legal affairs, health and science reporter
Survivors say a national redress scheme for child sexual abuse should be beyond party politics, as research reveals that the Royal Commission’s preferred model could cost the federal government about $872 million.
Adults Surviving Child Abuse, Care Leavers Australia Network (CLAN) and Broken Rites called on the Coalition and Labor to commit to fully funding a national scheme on the first full day of the election campaign.
CLAN executive director Leonie Sheedy said: “Redress shouldn’t be about party politics. It should be bipartisan. We’re all Australian citizens and care leavers who were abused in orphanages and children’s homes and foster care were the children of the (states’ and territories’) government.”
The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, started under Labor and extended under the Coalition, recommended last year that institutions compensate survivors under a single national redress scheme for 60,000 survivors, which it said was the “most effective” for ensuring justice and the most cost-efficient model.
The Coalition has opted for the commission’s “next-best option” of allowing states and territories to run their own schemes under a set of national principles, which are still being negotiated. A taskforce in the Prime Minister’s Department will continue these consultations throughout the campaign and present recommendations following the election.
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