Why Tasmania needs an independent inquiry into child sex abuse

July 2003 – Walter Tusyn was the first person to speak out publicly in Tasmania and expose the brutality, sexual and other abuses of people under State care from the early 1950’s to the 1970’s. The Tasmanian government attempted to suppress the ABC Stateline program from airing an interview with Walter and tried to silence him with threats of legal action if he repeated anything defamatory on the program.

Walter’s campaign for a Commission of Inquiry into Child Sex Abuse cost him over $100,000 in legal fees, loss of income and other costs as well as personal costs for his family. In response to Walter’s allegations the government established a hotline and the Tasmanian Review of Claims of Abuse from Adults in State Care conducted by the state Ombudsman. The Review was to focus on “healing and closure” and “was not to be on retribution, not on pursuing the ‘truth’ of the allegations”.

Like many, Walter believed that uncovering the truth is important and that the perpetrators and those who covered up for them should be brought to justice. Many Tasmanians believed the review was a form of blatant damage control. Walter boycotted the Ombudsman’s Inquiry because of restrictions placed on claimants’ access to information held by the Dept of Health and Human Services and the Office of the Ombudsman.

For a claimant to receive an ex gratia payment they had to sign a declaration waiving any future rights to take legal action against the government. Only after signing the declaration could the claimant receive the information held by the government. This meant that claimants could not determine how much evidence was held in official archives to assess whether or not it could be used against the state in any legal proceedings. Prior to the Ombudsman’s Inquiry numerous FOI requests by claimants were not successful in recovery of any documents. After signing the waiver declarations and accepting ex gratia payments individuals were allowed to see their censored documents with names and allegations blacked out. There are a large number of archives and files still missing.

Walter began legal proceedings in 2003. Given that there are dozens of documents proving government negligence, in his case it is one of the gravest travesties of justice in Tasmania that the Government wrote to Walter in relation to his claims saying that they would:

“raise all grounds of defence, technical and substantive, which the state may rely upon in resisting the claims(s)”

This matter should have been resolved by an independent conciliation tribunal upon discovery of the documents in 2003. Walter should not have had to suffer a second injury through legal abuse at the hands of an adversarial legal system which has no interest in seeking the truth.

In October 2007 Walter joined in the official launch of The Alliance of Forgotten Australians (AFA) sponsored by Families Australia and whose patron is Australian Democrats Senator Andrew Murray. The Alliance is made up of individuals and support groups across Australia and those who identify as ‘Forgotten Australians’ “are now aged from 40 up. They are the survivors of the roughly 500,000 children who found themselves in orphanages or [institutional] homes in the 20th century, between 1930 and 1970 …and suffered physical, emotional and/or sexual abuse”.

The Alliance called for:

Resources to set up and run a national body to support and promote the interest of Forgotten Australians.

A national, meaningful, written apology from the federal government.

Fully funded and resourced drop-in centres in every state and territory.

Free, open and supported access to all personal records including the preservation of records.

A Forgotten Australians Gold Card which provides Forgotten Australians with priority access to mainstream services such as housing, social security, counseling and health care.

Walter continued to speak out about the need for a federal Royal Commission into Child Sex Abuse and the need for an fully empowered Tasmanian ICAC. Sadly, Walter died in 2010.

August 2003 – Whistleblowers Australia (Tasmanian members supported by Dr Jean Lennane), Survivors Confronting Child Abuse and Rape (SCARR) and National Association for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (NAPCAN) formed the Coalition for Inquiry Into Child Sex Abuse (CICSA).

CICSA launched at a media conference with the release of their proposed Terms of Reference for a Tasmanian Commission of Inquiry into Child Sex Abuse. Attending the CICSA launch and in support of a Commission of Inquiry were Tasmanian Commissioner for Children, Patmalar Ambikapathy, Anti Discrimination Commissioner, Jocelyn Scutt, and former Human Rights Commissioner, Tonia Kohl.

Page 3 of The Terms of Reference outlined Specific Investigations:

‘That the materials used for the preparation of the report entitled “Not The Way of Christ” prepared for the Anglican Diocese of Tasmania and the report itself be reviewed in light of the recent conviction for the crime of “maintaining a relationship with a young person” of Michael Crowley, psychologist, a co-author of that report, to determine whether in any way the report failed to fairly present conclusions that were available on the basis of materials gathered and further, whether any materials were improperly overlooked or discarded.

Whether any members of the Tasmanian Parliament, Tasmania Police or public officials have by act or omission hindered the proper and thorough criminal or other investigations or prosecutions of persons suspected of child sexual abuse or the sexual assault of children, with particular reference to the adequacy of any investigations since 1986 undertaken by Tasmania Police or other public officials in relation to matters detailed in the Confidential Volume of the Report of the Commission of Inquiry into the death of Joe Gilewicz.

Whether the procedures of, or the relationships between Tasmania Police, public officials and other public authorities have adversely affected the police investigations and the prosecution or attempted, lapsed or failed prosecution of persons suspected of child sexual abuse or the sexual assault of children, in particular, in relation to matters detailed in the Confidential Volume of the Report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Death of Joe Gilewicz.

Whether child sex abuse allegations made by children or adults who are or were in Ashley Youth Detention Centre, Risdon Prison or any Government or non-Government organisations or under the guardianship of the Secretary for the Department of Health and Human Services have been thoroughly and properly investigated.

Whether information sought under FOI by Walter Tusyn over Child Sex Abuse allegations was deliberately withheld & whether the Social Service Department and Tasmania Police properly and thoroughly investigated the allegations as requested by Mr Tusyn.’