The Royal Commission gets more farcical

Newsroom reports:

The Royal Commission into state abuse has allowed a convicted child sex offender into meetings with survivors of sexual abuse.
The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, attended three meetings with members of the survivors’ advisory group.
One survivor in the group told Newsroom she was retraumatised by the man’s presence.

As you would be.

In 2000, the man, who has permanent statutory name suppression, pleaded guilty and was convicted of two charges: one of sexual violation by rape and the other of sexual violation by having unlawful sexual connection.
Court documents show the man pleaded guilty to the sexual abuse against a child in his care, who was aged between seven and eight and a half at the time. The judge’s sentencing notes said during this period the man raped and sexually violated the child on a number of occasions.

And here he is attending meetings of victims.

It is unfortunate that when a pedophile molests someone he is related to, or cares for, they get name suppression. It is designed to protect the victims, but more often seems to protect the offender.

Inquiry “ambassador” Betty Sio is facing charges laid by the Serious Fraud Office. She has pleaded not guilty.
And former advisory group facilitator, Harry Tam, was removed from the panel following allegations of domestic violence.

I tend to think the inquiry has been so compromised with these mistakes that it will end up doing more harm than good.

Marks said the internal workings of the inquiry was “a shambles”.
“It’s pretty much all over the place – from what I’ve seen.”
This made it hard for survivors to have confidence in the commission and its processes, he said, adding that it was not fair on those survivors, or taxpayers.
The inquiry has a budget of $78.85 million over four years.

So $80 million, which may end up achieving nothing.