AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald
August 6, 2014
Henrietta Cook, Jane Lee
One of Australia’s leading philanthropists has demanded the Premier urgently implement all recommendations from the Victorian inquiry into institutional child sex abuse, warning further delays will lead to a “betrayal of trust”.
The Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry’s final report was tabled in November, but only three of its 15 recommendations have since been implemented, with legislation for a fourth recommendation before parliament.
Andrew Blode, chief executive of the Jack and Robert Smorgon Families Foundation, which helped establish the Australian Council for Children and Youth Organisations and has supported hundreds of charities, recently wrote to Premier Denis Napthine to express concerns about the delay.
“Clearly, if the Victorian government delay taking action any longer, these same institutions named in the inquiry, which receive in excess of $320 million from DHS to provide community services, would be viewed as a ‘betrayal of trust’.”
On the day the report was tabled, Premier Napthine said all the recommendations “will be considered as a matter of urgency by the Government.”
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