Former judge and lawyer Marcia Neave chosen as president of inquiry into child sexual abuse
The state government has revealed who will lead the Commission of Inquiry into allegations of child sexual abuse in government institutions, and announced a time frame for its commencement. LATEST >>
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A FORMER judge and lawyer who chaired the Royal Commission into Family Violence in Victoria has been chosen to lead Tasmania’s Commission of Inquiry into child sexual abuse in government institutions.
Attorney-General Elise Archer announced on Friday that Victorian Marcia Neave will be appointed president of the inquiry subject to approval by Tasmanian Governor Kate Warner.
The impending appointment comes after Premier Peter Gutwein in November announced the Commission of Inquiry would take place, the first in the state in 20 years.
Mr Gutwein said he was prompted to do so after being briefed on further allegations of historic child sexual abuse involving current government employees.
It replaced three inquiries that had already announced: into allegations of abuse in the Health Department, the education department and in the Ashley Youth Detention Centre.
Tasmania’s equivalent of a Royal Commission, the broad-ranging inquiry will have the power to hold hearings in public, to call witnesses and to demand the production of documents.
Ms Neave was a former Justice of the Court of Appeal at the Supreme Court of Victoria, and has previously been chair at several universities around the country.
She was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 1999 and in 2001, became the foundation chair of the Victorian Law Reform Commission.
This role saw her address issues faced by women and children within the legal system, including victims of domestic and sexual offences.
Ms Neave is expected to be officially installed as president within weeks.
Ms Archer said Ms Neave would be based in Victoria but would travel to Tasmania as required, while two commissioners would be appointed to work alongside her.
About 20 full-time equivalent positions are expected to be appointed, including counsel assisting the commission, consultants, and a chief executive-type position.
Ms Archer said she expected the inquiry to be formally commenced by the end of February or early March.
A dozen state service employees have been stood down since November over allegations of abuse — but the nature of the allegations, the number of victims and where the employees work have not been revealed.
Ms Archer defended the non-disclosure of these details, saying it was important the principles of natural justice were allowed to take their course.
But she said the government was bracing for more allegations to come to light.
“This is what the Commission of Inquiry has been set up to achieve,’’ she said.
“The government wants to get to the bottom of these issues, we want to identify where there are issues so we can ensure the safety of children into the future.”
Draft terms of reference for the inquiry were released last month and submissions are already being accepted.
Labor justice spokeswoman Ella Haddad welcomed Ms Neave’s appointment, saying she would bring a wealth of experience to the role.
“It’s was critical the appointment was of a trusted and truly independent president to chair the inquiry in the best interests of transparency,” Ms Haddad said.
Greens Leader Cassy O’Connor said the inquiry was critical to understanding systematic failures within state services to protect children.
“This is our opportunity to expose abuse, system failures and make the changes required to protect children into the future,’’ she said.
GREATER OPACITY NEEDED IN CHILD SEX ABUSE INQUIRY
January 28, 2021
David Killick
OPPOSITION parties are demanding the government be more forthcoming with information about child sex allegations against public servants.
A dozen state service employees have been stood down over allegations of child sexual abuse.
The nature of the allegations, the number of victims, where the employees work, the time frame and progress of the investigation are not revealed.
Greens leader Cassy O’Connor said the public had a right to a lot more detail about the repeated serious claims being made about public servants.
“The government has provided no information to the public about which agency or agencies these employees work for, whether their removal from a workplace relates to allegations of historical or contemporary abuse, or what action has been taken to support any children or young people who may have been harmed.
“The opacity is inexcusable … this increasingly has the whiff of a protection racket for ministers.
“The Gutwein Government has a demonstrated penchant for secrecy, but this is taking it to the next level.”
The state government announces the standing down of public servants in emails sent late in the afternoon.
“It is the Government’s policy to advise the public of instances of State Service employees being stood down pending allegations of alleged sexual abuse, on the day they are stood down if possible. This may mean that it is late in the day,” a spokesman said.
“Publicly reporting of stand downs of this nature has not always been policy under previous governments but in line with the Premier’s commitment to transparency, this new process of alerting the public was instituted late last year.”
On ABC radio on Thursday morning, Labor leader Rebecca White said the public are owed better explanations.
“We’re not talking about releasing the names of the individuals, but it is important that the government is transparent about agencies they’re referring to,” she said.
“It comes down to how we protect children.
“I believe parents deserve to understand whether or not agencies they’ve interacted with, and their children might have been put at risk.
“That has got to be our primary concern here, the welfare of children and making sure we don’t have a culture of secrecy.”
Lawyer Sebastian Buscemi acts for a number of complainants in child sexual abuse cases brought against the state of Tasmania said there was “no justification whatsoever”
“This kind of secrecy is exactly one of the key issues that puts children at risk,” he said.
“It’s a culture where we’re not talking about where these risks are, we’re not identifying them and were not prioritising child safety. The obvious consequence of that is that children will remain at risk.
He said secrecy also made it hard for witnesses to come forward with relevant information.
There have been increasing concerns about the transparency of justice in Tasmania in the last 12 months, as COVID rules have hampered access to court proceedings.
The High Court has ruled that court proceedings must be open and subject to public and professional scrutiny except in exceptional circumstances’, but the media has been repeatedly locked out of Tasmanian courts in recent months.
In the latest incident, reporters were thrown out of court hearing in Burnie Magistrates Court on Tuesday.
The Department of Justice is yet to explain the legal basis for the ruling.
Premier Peter Gutwein is expected to announce the head of the Commission of Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse before the weekend.
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