Prime
minister Julia Gillard says royal commission – in which 5,000 victims may give
evidence – is 'moral moment' for country
guardian.co.uk,
Agencies in Melbourne, Wednesday 3 April 2013
 |
| Julia Gillard announced the commission in November after a string of sexual abuse accusations against Catholic priests. Photograph: Str/AFP/ Getty Images |
Australia
has launched a national inquiry into allegations of child sex abuse in state
and religious institutions and NGOs, a process in which more than 5,000 victims
are likely to give evidence.
A panel of
six commissioners launched the inquiry, known in Australia as a royal
commission. Witnesses can be compelled to testify and risk imprisonment for
lying.
The inquiry
was unlikely to achieve the late 2015 deadline set by the government because so
many people wanted to give evidence, said Justice Pete McClellan, the
commission's chairman.
McClellan
said he expected at least 5,000 people would want to give evidence, but the
number could be much higher.
"The
task we have is large; the issues are complex," he said. "But we are
now in a position to actively begin the work of gathering the stories and
examining the responses of institutions."
The prime
minister, Julia Gillard, announced the commission in November in the face of a
string of sexual abuse accusations against priests and claims of a Roman
Catholic church cover-up.
The New
South Wales state government had ordered an inquiry a week earlier into
allegations of a sexual abuse cover-up by Catholic priests in the Hunter Valley
region north of Sydney. Victoria state officials had also begun investigating a
separate series of priest sex abuse allegations in their state.
Since the
federal inquiry was announced, more than 6,000 people have contacted staff in
writing or by phone.
The
government has offered free legal advice to people who want to make submissions
to the inquiry before public hearings begin after September.
Gillard
said the royal commission was an important "moral moment" for the
country.
"It is
going to require our country to stare some very uncomfortable truths in the
face," she told Australian Broadcasting Corp radio.
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