McLeod on the bungling Royal Commission
Rosemary McLeod writes:
What goes through the mind of a convicted paedophile who hangs out at the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State Care as if he’d be welcome?
More to the point, what goes through the mind of his partner, a member of the commission’s survivor advisory group?
Very good points. How could either of them think that was appropriate. Hey I’m a convicted pedophile, so I’ll just hang out with a group of survivors of sexual abuse.
Commissioner Paul Gibson learned in May that the man had criminal convictions. A more curious person in that delicate setting might have asked a few questions about the nature of those convictions.
Absolutely. He should have asked for details immediately.
Instead the man disclosed the fact in August, and the minister responsible for the inquiry, Tracey Martin, seems to have found out this week. She declined to express confidence in the commission. To put it elegantly.
Some survivors may pull out of the inquiry, seeing the lapse in the commission’s judgment as a breach of their trust, and a shadow has fallen on Gibson’s handling of the matter. The now indignant survivor group found out through media.
I think the Royal Commission should be closed down. It was of dubious value to start with, and the series of mishaps has meant it will never deliver what the survivors want.
Save the $80 million and spend it on support services for survivors instead,
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