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Children's Files Being 'Kept Secret' THE number of wards of the state who have disappeared while under the care of the Government is being kept secret. Families Minister Jay Weatherill is refusing to disclose how many children went missing or who was looking after them at the time. The Advertiser raised the issue after revealing exclusively in July that hundreds of files on former wards of the state had been destroyed in the late 1970s and early '80s. However, Mr Weatherill has declined to answer questions put to his office a week ago about whether he could provide details of how many wards of the state disappeared while in the Government's care and whether any of the matters had been referred to police. Yesterday, Liberal back- bencher Mark Brindal - who has twice raised similar questions in Parliament - said the Minister's silence "just isn't good enough". "What is the Government hiding? What have they got to cover up," he asked. "The Government must have a list of children who went missing, and if it hasn't, it is preposterous ... a huge dereliction of duty." The Unley MP first asked Mr Weatherill in Parliament on June 3 how many juveniles had absconded from institutions or carers. He did so again on June 30, saying: "If some children disappeared and ended up dead, they have no voice, but they still deserve justice". The former Liberal Youth Affairs Minister subsequently wrote to Mr Weatherill on July 15 after his questions had not been answered. Last week, Mr Weatherill said his department was "currently in the process of cataloguing records in the archives" and when completed "will provide us with a thorough indication of all of the records we have". In July, Adoption and Family Information Services confirmed that an unknown number of files - likely to be hundreds - had been destroyed "because of a prevailing philosophy and community concern at the time that it was inappropriate for the Government to hold files containing personal information about citizens", Mr Brindal said yesterday. "I want an answer. Give me the numbers - if records of children have gone missing, they should 'fess up right now. "You dont lose kids and then throw away their records." Mr Brindal said former wards of the state who had been sexually abused had told him they believed the loss of records was "sinister" - and they had probably been destroyed as a "cover-up". Mr Weatherill said these and other allegations would be "thoroughly and independently investigated" as part of the Government's inquiry into child sex abuse to be headed by Justice Mullighan. |
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Pedophiles 'preyed on wards' SADISTS and pedophiles preyed on wards of the state in South Australia, some of whom were treated as medical guinea pigs, a commission of inquiry was told today. The commission of inquiry into children in state care opened in Adelaide today with its head, former Supreme Court Justice Ted Mullighan, apologising for holding the first session in a church hall. The location was met with anger by some former wards set to allege sexual abuse by the clergy to the inquiry. The inquiry has already been rocked by the resignation of one of five assisting investigators, Bill Morris, because of his professional relationship with disgraced magistrate and convicted pedophile Peter Liddy. Mr Mullighan said he understood some people were "very unhappy" at being in a church hall. "I'm sorry if any of you feel uncomfortable for being in this sort of environment," he told the opening session at the Methodist meeting hall in central Adelaide. More than 200 written submissions have been received by the inquiry, which will deliver an interim report to the state government in six months. SA Parliamentary Speaker Peter Lewis, himself a victim of child abuse, told the inquiry heinous crimes had been covered up by powerful officials in the state. He said carers of wards in the state were mainly caring and compassionate towards children. "But amongst them, there were sadists and pedophiles," he said. "And it didn't take long for collusion between the two to produce the end result we seek to address today." The inquiry's terms of reference were criticised by former ward Debra Smith for being restricted to investigating claims of sexual abuse, excluding physical and mental abuse. Ms Smith said electric shock treatment was performed on some wards of the state who were treated like "medical guinea pigs". "We have a doctor here in South Australia who was giving shock treatment to children for things like running away, being so-called uncontrollable," Ms Smith said. "An uncontrollable child is not an uncontrollable child, it's an unhappy child. "How dare people tell us we were uncontrollable while we were being raped, pillaged and plundered by the state, by the government – the very people that were supposed to be looking after us." Another victim, Ki Meekins, urged other former wards of the state who were victims of sexual assault to speak to the commission. "The only way to stop other children being damaged is to speak out," Mr Meekins said. SA Family and Communities Minister Jay Weatherill said the commission would examine a range of material, much of it many decades old. "We fully expect that the outcome of the inquiry will not be comfortable for this or past governments," Mr Weatherill said. Daily Telegraph (8-12-2004) Steve Larkin |
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Govt Urges Sexual Abuse Victims To Submit Stories Former state wards who were sexually abused as children are being urged to tell their stories to a special Commission of Inquiry. The State Government will issue a formal call for submissions through newspaper advertisements this weekend. The inquiry, to be headed by Justice Ted Mullighan, begins in three weeks and its findings are expected to be reported to Parliament by the middle of next year. Families and Communities Minister Jay Weatherill says while the process will be traumatic, it is important that victims are encouraged to break their silence. "They can be satisfied that the inquiry will be independent, that their confidentiality will be respected and that their stories will be respected," he said. "We believe that this is an historic opportunity for us to engage in a healing process for the South Australian community and those survivors of child sexual abuse." http://www.abc.net.au (19-11-2004) |
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Child Sex Abuse Inquiry Spreads To Institutions MILLIONS of dollars in compensation claims are expected to flow from an inquiry into child sexual abuse in State Government institutions. A retired judge or prominent QC will head the inquiry, which could take up to 12 months. The Government's decision - made at a special late-night Cabinet meeting on Tuesday - comes after more than a year of calls from the Opposition and abuse victims for a royal commission. The Government had previously ruled out a royal commission on the grounds of cost but it had left open the option of some form of judicial inquiry. It was a letter from outspoken Liberal MP Mark Brindal that played a decisive role in Premier Mike Rann's move. The letter urged Mr Rann to use the same passion and determination in seeking justice for abused state wards as he had in speaking out against abuse in the Anglican Church. Legislation to allow for the inquiry will be introduced into Parliament today by Families and Communities Minister Jay Weatherill Mr Rann said the search was on for a person to head it and he or she was likely to be a former judge or a QC. He said the inquiry head would be independent, have the power to summon witnesses and be able to question witnesses under oath. He or she would have the privileges and immunities of a Supreme Court judge. Opposition Leader Rob Kerin described the Government's announcement as belated and short on detail. He was joined by Speaker Peter Lewis, who said the planned inquiry "has not got legs and doesn't have integrity". Both men said the terms of reference were narrow and did not provide the opportunity for people to give evidence about crimes that had been committed, but not reported. "Former wards want to know what the Government really proposes to do," Mr Kerin said. Ki Meekins, 39, who says he was a victim of abuse 30 years ago, welcomed the inquiry. "It's good news, as long as the inquiry is conducted by someone who is completely independent of the state," he said. He said he and other wards had been "shopped around like books in a library" as children. "We've been completely damaged, completely destroyed, with no investigation and no punishment'for the offenders," he said. "I'm very, very happy that an inquiry has finally been called." He said there was no mercy shown to him as a child "and I'm not showing any mercy now to these people who have gone so many years without telling the truth". Mr Kerin said the opposition would proceed with its own legislation for an inquiry. Mr Lewis, who said he had been calling for an inquiry for 30 years, said it should be headed by someone from overseas. Attorney- General Michael Atkinson said it was possible people would make claims for compensation as a result of the inquiry, but would not speculate on a final amount. "The Government always has a pot of money for that sort of thing," he said. Mr Atkinson also said it would be possible for the commissioner to hold public hearings, although this would not be an incentive for people to come forward with evidence. Mr Weatherill told Parliament there were three options open to people who wanted to report child sexual abuse. He said they could contact the SA Police Pedophile Task Force, use the new help line for adult survivors of sexual abuse that would come into operation next month, or give evidence to the new inquiry. Mr Weatherill said he could not give any indication of how many people might be affected, but there were now 1089 children under guardianship SA. Australian Democrats social justice spokeswoman Kate Reynolds welcomed the inquiry, but said a federal royal commission was still needed to investigate the past, assist victims in moving forward, and protect children in the future. Key Meeting Tipped Balance JUST after 9pm on Tuesday, only minutes after Parliament rose for the evening, Cabinet ministers began gathering in Premier Mike Rann's ground floor office. The meeting followed a busy round of telephone calls between Mr Rann, his deputy Kevin Foley, who was in Hobart attending a police minister's conference, party powerbroker Patrick Conlon and National MP Karlene Maywald. The topic of all the discussions Mr Rann had was what form an inquiry into child abuse in state institutions should take. There have been calls from victims, the Opposition and sections of the media for such an inquiry for the past 12 months and pressure had been mounting for a decision. The Government had never ruled out having an Inquiry, even though it was adamant there would not be a royal commission. It is understood the consensus of people Mr Rann spoke to before the Cabinet meeting was that a royal commission would be counterproductive. Mr Rann was also influenced by what sources have described as "a heartfelt letter" from Liberal MP and child abuse campaigner Mark Brindal. After Cabinet agreed to Mr Rann's request for an inquiry, the chief executive of the Justice Department, Mark Johns, was set to work drawing up the terms of reference. Labor MPs said the Government had always wanted an Inquiry but wanted to let the heat die out of the issue first. Adelaide Advertiser (1-7-2004) Greg Kelton |
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SA PROBES CHILD ABUSE
- (12-07-2005)
MULLIGHAN INQUIRY - (24-5-2005) SHOCKING STATE CARE ABUSE UNCOVERED - (24-5-2005) CHILDREN 'HANDED OVER' TO SEX RING - (24-5-2005) CHILD ABUSE DETAILS READY - (15-5-2005) LIBS CHANGE TACK ON SEX ABUSE JUDGE - (23-7-2004) BUILDING TRUST TO TACKLE SEXUAL ABUSE - (21-7-2004) ABUSE INQUIRY 'NOT A LAWYERS' PICNIC' - (2-7-2004) CHILD- ABUSE REFORMS WILL KEEP THEM SAFE - (30-6-2004) CHILD ABUSE IN STATE CARE UNDER SCRUTINY - (30-6-2004) INSULTS FLY AS GOVERNMENT CONSIDERS INSTITUTIONS INQUIRY - (3-6-2004) Back |
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