Sarah Hanson-Young (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to contribute to this motion on the apology following the royal commission into institutionalised child abuse. The royal commission was many years coming, and it has done incredibly important yet harrowing work to really put the spotlight on the suffering and the pain of so many Australian children in the institutions that were—many of them—meant to care for, look after and love the children who they abused.

I want to start by saying that I am sorry. I want to associate my comments and heartfelt apology with those of every other member of this place and the other place—those who have stood and verbalised an apology, those who have acknowledged the moment's silence in the House of Representatives, and those who will do the same here shortly this evening. I'd also like to acknowledge the leadership of former Prime Minister Julia Gillard in bringing forward this royal commission. There are many things that I wish Julia Gillard had done while she was Prime Minister, but I think it is fair to say that her strongest legacy will be this royal commission. The spotlight has exposed evil crimes done to children in institutions that are unthinkable, but it is so important to have had it happen. It should have happened many, many years ago. The evil should have been stopped many, many years ago. But, for what we have before us today, I think we need to pay strong and honest tribute to Ms Gillard for showing leadership at the time.

I also want to associate myself with the comments of, and pay my respect to the leadership shown by, my own colleague Senator Rachel Siewert in relation to this issue. Senator Siewert has been fighting hard for many, many years in this place for justice and truth for the survivors of institutionalised child abuse, and for those who, for too long, remained voiceless and whose suffering and pain remained a dark secret. I also thought that the contribution in this place earlier today from Senator Kristina Keneally was one that deserves to be acknowledged. She spoke very eloquently and, as a practising Catholic, I think her words carry incredible power.

Many of us, as we have acknowledged and reflected upon the much-needed apology to the survivors—and to those who didn't survive—think it is absolutely essential that we acknowledge that the children whose childhoods were stolen had it happen almost in plain sight. Yes, there were dark secrets that the institutions were keeping and that children—abused at the hands of those who were meant to care for them, look after them and love them—were forced to keep. But many, many people knew. And many, many people—adults; people in authority—stayed silent when they should have spoken up. That is what we are truly sorry for. As adults, too many people stayed silent and allowed these children to suffer, to be abused, to be traumatised, to be re-abused and re-traumatised, some night after night, week after week, month after month—and for years. The absolute horror of these acts is only compounded by the cover-up that was associated with them.

There have been many accounts that have been used as part of the reporting through this royal commission, and many of us in this place have referred to individual stories that reflect so devastatingly the pain and the suffering that innocent children have had to carry. Tonight I want to focus my short time speaking on this motion on what we have to do to ensure that this never, ever happens again. If we are honest about reforming the way we deal with the issue of institutional child abuse, we must accept that listening to children and believing them has to be first and foremost. We have to accept that those responsible for this evil must be well and truly held to account. There is no excuse—ever—for abusing or hurting a child. There is no confession that can make this abuse less evil. If we are to deal with this issue properly, we must accept that religious institutions themselves must change.

Out of the 180-odd recommendations from this report, a number of them stand out in a very stark way. Recommendation 7.4 goes directly to the issue of the confessional. I will read it so that we have it clearly on Hansard:

Laws concerning mandatory reporting to child protection authorities should not exempt persons in religious ministry from being required to report knowledge or suspicions formed, in whole or in part, on the basis of information disclosed in or in connection with a religious confession.

No religious institution should ever excuse the abuse and trauma inflicted on children. After years and decades of suffering, generational and intergenerational trauma, it is time that we acknowledge that the confessional is not an excuse for keeping child abuse secret or for protecting the abusers.

It is the responsibility of any religious organisation, any person in authority and any adult that when they see evil they do something to stop it. And when they see children suffering, they must do something to stop it. If they suspect that a child is being abused and is suffering emotional or physical abuse or sexual abuse, they must do something about it. Any institution that refuses to comply with laws of mandatory reporting of child abuse, using the excuse of the seal of confession, I believe, should be prosecuted. I believe that using the seal of confession to refuse to report child abuse does not warrant the protection of Australian law or funding from the Australian taxpayer. If the Catholic dioceses around this nation are not prepared to concede to the recommendation of mandatory reporting of child abuse, I don't believe they should be receiving any public money. If you're not prepared to stick to the law that is designed to protect children, you're not playing your part as a decent institution in the community.

From 1 October this year, my home state of South Australia became the first state where priests are now legally obliged to report any confessions of child sexual abuse. In response to these laws being put in place, we have the leadership within the Catholic diocese in Adelaide openly saying they will defy those laws. Despite everything that we have been through, despite all of the reporting that has gone on and the exposure of this horror and this evil, we have leadership within the Catholic Church saying that they are refusing, and will refuse, to comply with the basic necessity of mandatory reporting and that somehow their seal of confession is more sacred than the life of an innocent child. I fundamentally and strongly disagree. I hope that the public response on this issue creates pause for thought for a number of those within the leadership of the Catholic Church and the various dioceses about complying and not using the confessional as an excuse to keep secret these horrible, painful and evil acts.

The report into institutionalised child sexual abuse also dealt, in a very sensitive manner, with the other contentious issue facing religious organisations. That, of course, is mandatory celibacy. Recommendations 16.18, 16.19 and 16.20 in the royal commission's final report all go to this. I strongly support that. If we are to be honest and brave, and if we are to pay genuine tribute and apology to all those who have suffered, to those children who never made it, to the survivors who are still in pain and suffering today, and to their children, who have suffered the intergenerational trauma of this abuse, we must also deal with forced celibacy within religious institutions. Canon law should be changed so that celibacy is not mandatory, and it should be illegal to force an individual to be celibate simply for religious tradition. I understand that this is a very sensitive element. I understand that this is a very controversial and sacred part of religious practice. But, if we are to be honest with ourselves, with the community and with the children who have suffered, we must face this and not hide behind it.

There are many other good recommendations throughout this report. I am very pleased that the government, the opposition, the Greens and other members around this chamber and the other have agreed to take these on. We must also insist that religious institutions and the church leadership take them on as well. Let's not allow the pain and re-traumatisation to have happened in vain. These two issues, the seal of confession and the enforcement of celibacy, must change if we are to ensure that we are doing everything we possibly can to protect children and young people from the type of evil and horror that we know has existed for far too long in those dark corners of institutions, and adults must do their jobs to protect children and to protect the innocence of children. That is what is important here—not ancient law and practice, but the protection of the innocence of a child and their right to a childhood, to love and care, and to be believed and supported, without the cover-up and without the shame.