Education Minister Yvette Berry Still Waiting for Explanation over Ex-priest's Placement

By Katie Burgess
Canberra Times
March 2, 2017

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/education-minister-yvette-berry-still-waiting-for-explanation-over-expriests-placement-20170303-gupzgo.html

Education minister Yvette Berry says the ACT government will not wait for the findings of a royal commission to re-examine how it regulates non-government schools.

On Friday, Ms Berry told a committee hearing she was still waiting for the Catholic Archdiocese of Canberra-Goulburn to explain how an ex-priest stood down over inappropriately touching a child came to live next to two primary schools.

Minister for Education Yvette Berry. Photo: Karleen Minney

"There's an expectation from the government and the community that this incident should not have occurred particularly given the conversation we're having with the royal commission's investigations," Ms Berry said.

"We've asked for an explanation from the archdiocese on Tuesday and we're still waiting for a response about how this could occur and how it did occur."

While the archdiocese said the principal of Sts Peter and Paul Primary School was told about Father Brian Hassett's past in July 2016, the principal of the Malkara School was not.

Ms Berry said the ACT government needed not wait for was recommendations from the the Royal Commission into Institutional Child Sexual Abuse to reexamine how independent schools are regulated.

Ms Berry said given the "seriousness" of the situation and the "missing moral compass" his placement indicated, a review needed to take place.

"We do need to have a look at our role as regulators, whether or not we have a strong enough framework there for a situation like this," Ms Berry said.

"Over the next couple of weeks we'll have a look at our system of regulators of independent schools and see if there's more we could have done.

"I can't believe it could [happen], but it has happened now and I hope it doesn't happen again in the future but if it does we need to make sure we do have the proper strength and rigour in assessments that this sort of situation could not occur and it's properly communicated to the government if somebody made a similar decision in the future."