Hansard debates

Mr McGUIRE (Broadmeadows) (12:13:26): Julie Stewart was nine years old when she was abused in the confessional. What happened to the schoolgirl from Doveton echoed in the Parliament of Victoria, across Australia and all the way to Rome. Julie has given permission to have her story told, from her suicide attempt at the age of 15, to the Catholic Church offering minimum compensation for her abuse, to vindication of her case and a recent settlement for substantially higher compensation. Such issues are at the heart of the Children Legislation Amendment Bill 2019, where protecting children from abuse is prioritised above protecting perpetrators. Survivors of institutional child abuse can also have unjust and inadequate settlements resulting from past limitations set aside. The aim of the bill is to deliver the Andrews government’s commitment to remove barriers to civil litigation faced by survivors of institutional child abuse. The Victorian Parliament’s landmark Betrayal of Trust report highlighted the need for such reforms six years ago. The national Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse that followed reinforced this stand. The Victorian Parliament’s investigation was into crime not faith, but like the journey into Dante’s Inferno, the deeper the descent, the more horrific the suffering. Disclosures must not be forgotten. Admissions revealed a cover-up that killed. Adviser to the Pope Cardinal George Pell conceded the Catholic Church had placed paedophile priests above the law and destroyed documents in Victoria. As deputy chair of the parliamentary inquiry I asked Australia’s highest profile Catholic leader if he agreed that this systemic cover-up allowed paedophile priests to prey on innocent children. Cardinal Pell replied: Yes, you would have to say there is significant truth in that. He also agreed with my proposition that moving paedophile priests to parishes with access to vulnerable children resulted in more crimes. Cardinal Pell admitted to the Victorian Parliament: There is no doubt about it that lives have been blighted. There is no doubt about it that these crimes have contributed to too many suicides, and that is an ultimate tragedy. Such admissions became front-page news. Revelations echoed internationally. Betrayal of Trust provided a blueprint for the national royal commission and insights for the community. Whether criminal child abuse was concealed because of noble cause corruption or a misplaced sense of loyalty to a higher duty over justice to the individual, religious organisations rationalised the most egregious conduct. Men claiming to represent God had committed foul crimes against children, once hanging offences. Religious denominations practised wilful blindness, protecting paedophiles through cultures of concealment and codes of silence. The Anglican and Catholic churches and the Salvation Army frequently took steps to conceal wrongdoing according to their confessions and a substantial body of credible evidence. The children were innocent. Their fortitude in testifying as adults was inspiring. Their courage remains humbling. The evil that men do lives after them. Betrayal of Trust called for new laws to place: … an enforceable obligation on people who have knowledge of any serious offence, including sexual offences against children, to make a report to police. This bill captures the parliamentary report’s intent to confront and expose the truth. It extends reporting and disclosure of child abuse by including people in religious ministry as mandatory reporters to child protection without exemption for religious confessions. During the parliamentary inquiry I challenged Cardinal Pell on whether he understood how victims of Father Peter Searson at Holy Family Catholic church, Doveton, regarded what happened as 'hear no evil, see no evil, say nothing about evil from the church’. Cardinal Pell responded: I think that is an objectionable suggestion, with no foundation in the truth. No conviction was recorded for Searson on sexual misbehaviour. There might be victims. The ABC televised this exchange nationally. Julie Stewart was angered by Cardinal Pell’s statement that 'there might be victims’. Julie, by this time a mother of three living in Queensland, declared Father Searson sexually abused her in the confessional in 1984 and 1985. I asked if she had any documents concerning this offence. Julie went to the bottom drawer of her dresser, where she kept mementos of her childhood, and produced a letter dated 1998 from the Archbishop of Melbourne, George Pell. Pell stated his regret and apology for abuse within the Catholic Church, which he described as a 'betrayal of trust’. The letter contained an offer of $25 000 compensation. Cardinal Pell denied he in any way covered up offending or was guilty of wilful blindness to Victoria’s Parliamentary Inquiry into the Handling Of Child Abuse by Religious and Other Non-Government Organisations. In December 2015 I reported to Parliament that Cardinal Pell appeared to have misled the Victorian Parliament or downplayed the significance of his understanding of matters by covering up Father Searson’s abuse of Julie Stewart in the privacy of the confessional box. He was clearly not forthcoming or prepared to publicly acknowledge what he had already accepted and apologised for on behalf of the church. I also renewed my call for the royal commission to determine the truth concerning who protected children and who protected paedophiles, particularly in Doveton and Ballarat, where paedophile clusters were established. The royal commission subsequently investigated Julie Stewart’s case when Cardinal Pell was in Rome. She was vindicated, and she recently settled with the Catholic Church for substantially more compensation than the $25 000 offered in 1998. As a community we have come a long way in understanding the impact of child abuse through the dogged fight for justice by survivors, their families and advocates. I would like to acknowledge particularly the loving leadership of Chrissie and Anthony Foster and their family. The courage and fortitude of survivors, families and communities resounded through the media coverage, underscoring the essential role journalism has played in pursuing accountability and redress. The commitment of many in the media to pursuing the obtainable truth has been vital. Children can bear a misplaced sense of guilt and shame from abuse. Spirits are corroded, lives blighted. Despite the struggle, some innocents cannot outrun the haunting shadows. The fortitude of the innocents who testified was inspiring. Their courage remains humbling. A horrendous consequence is that perpetrators often remain unrepentant, while some victims do not survive. Faith, to believe or not, is a personal privilege and a constitutional right. But is it an entitlement also to ignore the deeply personal damage that can result from concealment by reason of faith? It is inherently inconsistent with the values of the Catholic Church that the priest in confession can contribute to the continuation of damage and further sexual abuse. The Catholic Church’s work in social justice, education and care throughout our community is invaluable, but child sex abuse is the cancer eating away at the church’s credibility and must be cut out. This amendment prioritises the child’s right to protection over confidentiality to protect the perpetrator. It adds to the raft of reforms to increase protection of children passed with support from all parties in Victoria’s 57th and 58th Parliaments and extended today to the 59th Parliament. I asked Julie Stewart what she thought of people resisting this change and she said: I don’t know why they are fighting over the seal of confession. Continuing to fight has a domino effect. It takes you right back. It still feels like there is no justice. It’s like you are frozen in emotion, you go back to being that vulnerable little girl. I was 15 when I attempted to take my life. No amount of compensation can replace your lost years. Stop fighting and do the right thing. We’re Christians, we believe in doing the right thing. This is an opportunity to do the right thing for children. I thank the Premier, the Minister for Child Protection and the Attorney-General for these reforms, and I commend them to the house.