Premier Roger Cook is ‘open’ to meeting with abuse victims who demand better

Premier Roger Cook says he is open to meeting with victims of institutional abuse who have slammed his Government’s response to a parliamentary inquiry into support as “cruel” and disappointing. The State Government accepted 11 recommendations made by a committee inquiry that found compensation and support is beset by delays, but did not accept recommendations to publish a public list of known offenders and restrict use of permanent stays to stall civil claims. A further 14 recommendations will be considered, including one to fund a Commissioner for Victims of Crime and to expand the legal definition of abuse to include physical, psychological and emotional abuse against minors. “We looked very carefully at those recommendations,” Mr Cook said on Monday. “It was a big report confronting some very complex policy issues so we want to make sure we get it right. “We accepted a large part of the recommendations put forward by that Committee, we’re considering very carefully the other recommendations.” Perth father Jarrod Luscombe gave evidence about his own abuse at the hands of Daniel Virgil McMahon, who taught at several Perth schools run by the Christian Brothers before his death in Tasmania. Mr Luscombe and advocacy group Survivors Of Child Abuse have requested a meeting with the Premier and Attorney-General John Quigley. He said he was angered by the Government’s response to the inquiry that ran for more than a year. “Disappointing was an understatement, just angry and I think the lack of understanding about childhood abuse is actually quite ignorant,” he said. “We’re fully aware that we’re coming up to an election year, this a great opportunity for the Cook Government to actually do something practical in this area. “He doesn’t appear to be an effective leader if he’s squashing a lot of these very good recommendations... it’s very dismissive of the Committee as well, they did their due diligence.” Mr Cook said he is “open” to having a conversation with the group. “My team have been working very closely with victims of historical institutional child abuse and sexual abuse and we’ll continue to make sure we wok with that community for great outcomes.” The inquiry was chaired by Liberal MP David Honey, who has vowed to continue campaigning on the issue even as his own political career draws to an end. “They’ve said they’re considering them so I think that’s a positive step forward,” he said. “It needs to be urgently done... I’ll be writing to the leaders of all of the political parties and urgent them to make sure that this is on their radar and urging them all to support those changes. “There are some complexities with some things, but let’s hope that we see really speedy progress.”