National Apology - Child Sexual Abuse Royal Commission

21st October, 2018

On Monday 22 October 2018, our Federal Parliament delivered a National Apology to victims and survivors of Institutional Child Sexual Abuse.

Philip was personally invited to Canberra for the National Apology by our Prime Minister the Hon Scott Morrison MP and our Attorney General Christian Porter MP. The event, whilst very emotional was also a very sobering moment for our country as we finally confronted the horrors perpetrated to the many victims of all forms of abuse, not least child sexual abuse.

This is not a silent crime and the effects on those are devastating and life lasting, not least for the victims themselves, but their families as well with many commenting they have never spoken about the horrors inflicted on them.

Yesterday was also a watershed moment for our country as not only were the horrors uncovered by our Royal Commission acknowledged, but our Federal Government led by our PM, Opposition Leader, former Prime Minister Gillard, Senator Hinch, the cross benchers, the Royal Commissioner's and their staff were able to publicly apologise to all Australians.

For many this now starts the healing process as finally victims now know they are believed, and our Nation, State's and our elected representatives are taking steps to one day ensuring that no other Australian is similarly affected by any form of abuse, sexual or otherwise.

Unfortunately, the treatment some of our fellow Australians endured resulted in many not being able to attend yesterday. Similarly, and regrettably there are those no longer with us with many ending their lives by their own hand, an unfortunate situation acknowledged by Prime Minister Morrison in his private address to those in attendance yesterday. To acknowledge those not present yesterday, a single seat was left empty at the front of the stage which was appreciated by all those in attendance.

The work now begins, as does the redress scheme and most importantly holding those responsible for their behaviour. Many announcements were made yesterday, which Philip fully supports but action now needs to occur and without any further delay.

The Western Australian Government's response to the Royal Commission's recommendations is that it's committed to:
     - addressing historical abuse that occurred;
     - preventing abuse from happening in the future; and
     - identifying and responding swiftly to abuse should it happen again.

Of the 409 recommendations made by the Royal Commission, 310 are applicable to the Western Australian Government. The Western Australian Government has accepted, or accepted in principle, 305 of the 310 recommendations (see attached). Some of these recommendations have already been addressed, and for others, work has commenced. Highlights from this work are included in case studies throughout the response document and further information is available at:

https://www.dpc.wa.gov.au/ProjectsandSpecialEvents/Royal-Commission/Pages/The-WA-Government-Response-to-Recommendations-(June-2018).aspx

We're Australian and we look after one another, and it's time to ensure our fellow Australian's no longer face the abuses of the past, or allow them to be repeated in the future.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison apologises to victims and survivors of child sexual abuse - see video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMgXPWC6PDI

Philip Couper