Apology to Victim Survivors of Sexual Abuse in Tasmanian Government Institutions

Media release – Jeremy Rockliff, Premier, 8 November 2022

Apology to Victim Survivors of Sexual Abuse in Tasmanian Government Institutions

The Tasmanian Government, together with the Parliament, unreservedly apologises to all victim-survivors of child sexual abuse in Tasmanian Government institutions.

Members of the Parliament of Tasmania stand united in this House today.

We have failed you, we are all accountable, and we are sorry.

Our institutions have a responsibility to ensure the safety and wellbeing of children, and our institutions have clearly failed in that responsibility.

No child should experience sexual abuse, or any other form of abuse.

No child who has been abused should ever experience a response that rejects or minimises their experience, and no child should be silenced or punished.

We are deeply sorry that our institutions violated your trust when they should have been places you could feel safe, supported, and protected.

We are sorry for failing in our responses to the abuse, for causing you further harm through our responses, and failing to meet your and our community’s expectations.

We express our sincere sorrow and regret, for those who came to us and were not believed and supported, at the time when they needed us most.

To those who were also abused after being placed in our care, we are sorry; sorry for the actions we, and successive Governments did not take, that might have led to your safety.

And, we are sorry for actions that have had the effect of protecting abusers and shielding institutions from accountability.

We have failed you, and we accept responsibility.

Today, we acknowledge the pain and suffering and the enduring impact of trauma on your health and wellbeing; on your life; and on the lives of your loved ones.

We apologise for the loss of trust and safety in this world.

We apologise for the potential that has been lost and the things that were stolen from you, that you can never get back.

We also acknowledge that trauma can affect relationships and generations.

That is why we extend our apology to your children, your partners, parents, siblings, your families and friends; all those people who have been impacted by what happened to you.

We would also like to extend an apology to those who spoke up to protect our children only for those concerns to be ignored.

You were also let down by the system.

Today, we are also saying thank you, to those who demonstrated enormous bravery in sharing their lived experience through the Inquiry and having to re-live some of the most harrowing moments of your lives.

It is because of you, that there is a genuine commitment to real change, meaning other children and young people will be protected from experiencing the abuse, you endured.

I would also like to thank the victim-survivors who gave up some of their time to share their thoughts about what today’s Apology needs to be, to have meaning for you.

We acknowledge that there are many more who did not feel able to, or chose not to, speak to the Commission.

Today, we also acknowledge the many victim-survivors who have not ever spoken of their abuse. We will believe you, and we will be here to support you also, should you choose to come forward in the future.

Your experiences are equally important.

With a heavy heart, I want to recognise those victims who tragically are no longer with us. They are not here to see the failings of Government institutions brought to light, nor to see the Parliament of Tasmania apologise, take accountability, and commit to action.

Today we remember them, and extend this apology to their families and friends many of whom have worked tirelessly to ensure their voices and experiences are heard.

To you all, I say I have listened and I have learned.

Over the past eight months – throughout this Inquiry – we have heard about a very dark chapter in Tasmania’s history.

It’s a chapter no-one should ever, ever forget. And today we give a solemn undertaking to all Tasmanians, to never, ever allow a repeat of this abuse, secrecy and suppression.

To never, ever allow a repeat of the failures that allowed such abuse to occur.

Our Government is acutely aware of the enormous responsibility to act swiftly and decisively to implement the Commission’s recommendations.

And this Parliament is acutely aware of its responsibility to ensure that the changes made to protect children and young people in this State are enduring, for all time.

While regrettably we cannot change what has happened, we can determine what happens next.

This Parliament will be defined by the actions we take now to ensure that the injustices perpetrated by Tasmanian Government institutions, can never ever happen again.

We know that we must do better to protect all children in Tasmania from abuse, and that our actions must give meaning to this apology.

We have listened to those who gave evidence and as a result commenced work on a number of interim actions, where it is clear we can and should, make those changes now.

For the same reason we are saying sorry now – it is never too early to acknowledge wrongs, and apologise.

We have heard you through the hearings, we believe you, and we are deeply sorry for what you have endured.

We know there is still much more work to do, and we are committed to making the changes required to ensure Tasmania is a safer place for all children and young people.

Mr Speaker, I believe it is also important for everyone listening today to understand that child safety is everyone’s responsibility.

If you have a concern about a child.

When your feelings or intuition tells you something isn’t right.

Do not hesitate.

Take action.

No concern is too minor.

Silence allows abuse to continue.

So please, report your concerns.

It is only by working together with a shared sense of purpose, that we will make Tasmania a safer place for all.

Mr Speaker, we are all accountable, we all take responsibility, and we are all deeply sorry.

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Media release – Rebecca White MP, Labor Leader, 8 November 2022

Apology to victims and survivors of child sexual abuse in institutional settings

Mr Speaker,

I rise to speak strongly in support of this motion…

Because there is no matter of greater importance than the safety and wellbeing of our children.

And we in the Parliament must acknowledge and take responsibility for the failings in our state’s government institutions which have so badly let down so many children in our schools, hospitals, the youth justice system and other government settings.

Mr Speaker,

We deeply regret these failings, which have caused enormous pain and suffering to children who should have been afforded the highest protections we can offer – and we offer our deepest and sincerest apologies.

To the children who have grown up with that pain and have had to fight every step of the way to find a path through their trauma, hurt and feelings of betrayal and try to move on with their lives in spite of it – in many cases, with little to guide them but their own courage.

Tragically also, to the children who were unable to find a way through – whose pain was too overwhelming for them to overcome – and who are no longer with us as a result.

There is nothing that can make up for that but if we are to find a way forward and protect other children, we must start by acknowledging the profound harm these systemic failings have done to so many children.

Children who had their innocence stolen from them and then had to fight a system that didn’t believe them – or that dismissed their complaints because it would be “too hard to prove”.

And, to the victims’ and survivors’ families – who entrusted their children’s care to state institutions only for that trust to be betrayed in the worst possible ways.

To the whistle-blowers who weren’t listened to, who had their concerns minimised, who tried to warn us of the horrors but found that instead of our gratitude for helping to protect children they got silenced.

To those parents who saw their children suffering, but were unable to penetrate a wall of deeply held trauma, amid the complex emotions of guilt, shame, anger, and sorrow.

To those who knew and tried to get help for their children – and of course justice – but were unable to penetrate a wall of bureaucracy and were left by the system to deal with their pain, grief, trauma and guilt without the support and help they deserved.

…And without the support and help their children deserved.

To each of you we say sorry.

And we are sorry that we still cannot protect all our children.

We have not done enough yet but let this day be a mark of our public commitment to each of you that we will redouble our effort. And that what follows our words in this place will be action.

The Government made a commitment to implement all of the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry when they are handed down next year and that is a commitment that must be kept. Because while today is about acknowledging and apologising for the way we have let children down there must also be a single-minded focus on doing everything within our power to protect from this failure to keep children safe from happening again.

I would like to acknowledge former Premier Peter Gutwein who announced the Commission of Inquiry and did so, I believe, from a place of genuine desire to make a difference to the lives of children in our state.

I want to thank the Commissioners for their dedication and careful work and all the staff who have supported the Commission of Inquiry. Their compassion and care has helped to support many victim survivors tell their story and expose the failures of successive governments.

I would like to recognise the bravery of all those who have come forward but in particularly I would like to pay my gratitude to those who spoke up, both on and off the record, before the Commission of Inquiry was announced. Their powerful stories shocked us, horrified us and demanded action from us. And from that the requirement for a Commission of Inquiry became clear.

I know that the wider community shares the distress and sorrow at both the nature and extent of the matters that the Commission of Inquiry has exposed.

We heard the testimony and questioned how these things could have happened. We read the reports in the media and we asked why nobody did anything. But the uncomfortable reality is that many of these failures to protect children were known, but people didn’t act. And many of these stories of abuse have been told before, but people didn’t listen.

The Commission of Inquiry has provided a safe place for people to share their experiences and for them to be believed.

Some gave evidence to the Commission of Inquiry because they wanted to protect others. They wanted to expose what they had witnessed; the failings, the horror and the lack of action to keep children safe.

Some shared stories where the only action that was taken was to protect the perpetrator.

Some shared their own stories of abuse. Of their pain. Of how a system that should be set up to protect our most vulnerable utterly failed.

The personal stories from the Commission of Inquiry were the most heartbreaking to hear.

The horrific abuse children who should have been safe were subjected to and the years and years of dealing with the trauma of that abuse…

…the lifelong damage that has caused.

…the gaslighting – not being believed by people in positions of power.

…holding the pain tight in their chest as it threatened to consume them.

…the loneliness, the isolation, the secrets, the shame.

…the horror of discovering through the media that they were not alone – that so many others had experienced similar trauma – in some cases at the hands of the same perpetrator.

…the ordeal of having to speak up themselves through the media in order to finally be heard.

Tragically, these horrific experiences are not restricted to those who took part in the Commission of Inquiry…

There are those who have equally dreadful stories who have never shared them.

We know that many other children have also suffered terribly at the hands of people they should have been able to trust.

And in every instance where a child has been abused and had their world shattered it is important to always remember that it is not your fault. It was never your fault.

And we know that all of you who have experienced this terrible betrayal have lived a very different life from the life you should have had.

For all of that, we acknowledge your anguish and pain and are deeply and sincerely sorry.

I want to acknowledge the extraordinary courage and resilience it has taken to come through such a devastating experience.

It is your strength and fortitude that has brought us to where we are today – no longer dismissing these awful stories of abuse, but exposing them instead.

…so that the systemic failings that allowed this to go on for so long can be fixed…

…so that those who allowed these atrocities to continue can be held to account…

…so that we can have trust in our public institutions again…

…so that we can know that our children are safe and protected.

…so that this never happens again.

Mr Speaker, we come together today in this House, to acknowledge the deep hurt caused by these failings…

…to take responsibility for these failings…

…and to give our firm commitment to do better…

We are here as representatives of the Tasmanian community, to offer our sincere apology to the children whose lives were so damaged,

…to their mothers and fathers, their brothers and sisters, their grandparents and to all that loved them.

I know that for some, today will be met with mixed feelings.

This is a highly sensitive and personal issue.

Every person will deal with this in different ways and it’s important that we respect that.

For some people today will be a really important day to help them heal.

For others, it might be quite a distressing day. And I want to acknowledge that.

That range of reactions is normal and we accept and respect that.

Our role is to do everything we can to work with individuals to ensure they have the support they need.

There is no apology that can take away the weight you bear, the loss of your innocence or the sadness that remains with you…

But I hope that by making this apology today, we can help ease the burden of your trauma.

We are deeply sorry.

Sorry for your pain.

Sorry for your suffering.

Sorry for the appalling treatment you endured after already experiencing one of the worst things a child can experience.

And sorry for failing you when you should have been protected.

No-one should suffer as you have suffered and along with our sincere apology, we offer you our ongoing compassion and support.

And we offer our vow that we will continue working to ensure that this never happens again…

…that Tasmania’s children are protected as they should be – in a community that always puts their safety first.

I commend the motion to the House.

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