AUSTRALIA
ABC – PM
MARK COLVIN: In the wash-up of the child abuse royal commission’s inquiry in Brisbane, there are calls for a set of nationally consistent rules on how and when child sexual abuse allegations should be referred to police.
Yesterday the former bishop of Toowoomba told the child abuse inquiry that he was still stunned by the failure of senior Catholic Education staff to report allegations that a teacher was sexually abusing 13 students just a few years ago.
One of Australia’s leading child abuse prevention organisations, Child Wise, says there are still ambiguities around the legal obligations to report child sexual abuse, and the existing laws are not well understood.
Emily Bourke reports.
EMILY BOURKE: Gerard Byrnes is in jail for sexually assaulting 13 girls while he was a teacher and child protection officer at a Catholic primary school in Toowoomba.
The latest inquiry by the child abuse royal commission heard that a breakdown in policies and a string of individual failures contributed to Byrnes being able to access and abuse more girls despite allegations being voiced in 2007.
Crucially, the inquiry heard that the school principal and officials from the Catholic Education Office failed to report the matter to police, even though mandatory reporting laws were in place.
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