AUSTRALIA
Herald Sun
PREMIER Barry O’Farrell has agreed to set up a special commission of inquiry to probe allegations made by a senior police investigator into child sex abuse at the hands of Catholic clergy in the NSW Hunter region.
The commission announced today will be headed by senior counsel Margaret Cunneen to look into claims made by Detective Chief Inspector Peter Fox, alleging cover-ups by police and the Catholic Church in the Hunter.
Mr Fox had publicly challenged Mr O’Farrell to launch a royal commission, writing an open letter to the premier and criticising the state government’s continued failure to launch a judicial inquiry on national television.
Mr O’Farrell said while he had “full confidence”‘ in police commissioner Andrew Scipione and the police force, the matters raised were serious.
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