Election delayed child abuse response, Premier Jeremy Rockliff said
Some of the work on implementing the state government’s response to the Commission of Inquiry was halted because of the state election, Premier Jeremy Rockliff has told state parliament.
Tasmania
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Some of the work on implementing the state government’s response to the Commission of Inquiry was halted because of the state election, Premier Jeremy Rockliff has told state parliament.
In a ministerial statement to state parliament on Thursday, Mr Rockliff reiterated his commitment to do all he could to keep children safe and paid tribute to victim-survivors, whistleblowers and their families.
The Commission of Inquiry into the Tasmanian Government’s responses to Child Sexual Abuse in Institutional Settings made 191 recommendations for reform.
The government pledged to have the first 48 recommendations in place by July 1 this year.
“Of the 48 recommendations, four will require a little extra time to ensure that we are doing things in the best way to get the best outcomes for the Tasmanian people,” Mr Rockliff said.
“This is about getting it right.
“We remain committed to delivering on all the recommendations and expect to complete this small number of delayed phase one recommendations by September 2024.”
“These recommendations have been impacted by the suspension of legislative drafting processes that occurs during caretaker periods.
“By convention, it is the practice during all elections that drafting processes are suspended until the result of the election is clear.”
There was no further explanation of the $240m earmarked by the government over the next three years for the cost of implementing the government’s response.
Labor leader Dean Winter said the government’s response to the Commission of Inquiry has causing ongoing trauma to victim-survivors.
“The Premier and the government’s response to the Commission of Inquiry has not been open and transparent. That is not opinion, that is a fact,” he said.
“We have seen this parliament do everything it can to hold this government to account, to implement the recommendations and to hold those responsible: the perps and their enablers.
“We’ve established committees to do that, we’ve spent days asking question of the government and at the end of that we realised there wasn’t openness and transparency from the government.
“We were continually obstructed form doing that work, to the point where the premier did all can election.”
Mr Winter said the closure of the Ashley Youth Detention Centre was one of the most important recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry, but there was still no deadline.
“As soon as possible is not a timeline,” he said
“It’s not a timeline to which we can hold the Premier accountable.
“As soon as possible is not the timeline the victim-survivors need. It’s not the timeline their families need.”
Greens leader Rosalie Woodruff said Mr Rockliff had told Tasmanians the election would not delay the implementation of Commission of Inquiry recommendations.
“Do you acknowledge those statements were dishonest?” she asked.
Mr Rockliff said he had been open and honest.
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