Hunter Inquiry 'A Decoy': Local Mps Urge Broader Focus

By Stephen Jeffery
Armidale Express
November 12, 2012

www.armidaleexpress.com.au/story/947376/hunter-inquiry-a-decoy-local-mps-urge-broader-focus/?cs=471

Tony Windsor MP will raise the idea of a royal commission with Prime Minister Julia Gillard.

NEW England politicians have joined calls for a national royal commission on allegations of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church.

The state government announced a special commission of inquiry into the police force's handling of child sex abuse allegations against priests in the Hunter on Friday.

Although it will have the powers of a royal commission, the inquiry's focus has been described as a 'decoy' and too narrow in scope.

State Member for Northern Tablelands Richard Torbay and federal Member for New England Tony Windsor claimed a national inquiry, rather than one focusing on a single state or region, was required.

"Priests don't stay in one area, they are transferred interstate and if we want this inquiry to make real headway to clean up this issue, it should be nationally inclusive," Mr Torbay said. "We should put the interests of the victims and their families first and nothing short of a national royal commission can achieve that."

Mr Windsor said he would raise the idea of a royal commission with Prime Minister Julia Gillard. He claimed any investigation of the allegations needed to go beyond a "controlled political inquiry".

"I think it is time for the Commonwealth and the Prime Minister to have a very, very close look at this," he said.

"I'd be encouraging her for what it's worth to pursue this because I think the community is demanding it."

While Ms Gillard has not spoken about the calls for a royal commission since the state inquiry was launched, federal Employment Minister Bill Shorten expressed doubts that it would be the best way of handling the issue. 

The state government inquiry was prompted by claims of church interference during investigations of sexual abuse claims against priests in the Hunter region.

In an editorial published by Fairfax Media, Detective Chief Inspector Peter Fox said the "network protecting paedophile priests" needed to be exposed.

"I can testify from my own experiences that the church covers up, silences victims, hinders police investigations, alerts offenders, destroys evidence and moves priests to protect the good name of the church," he said. "It is no longer enough to just arrest the wrongdoer 21 years after the crime."

An independent inquiry into the handling of child sex abuse allegations in the Armidale and Parramatta dioceses is underway. On Wednesday, a former priest facing 25 charges relating to the alleged sexual abuse of three girls during the 1970s and 1980s was released on bail in Armidale Local Court.