The Royal Commission’s Case Study 7 on Parramatta Girls’ Training School and the Institution for Girls in Hay is due to commence hearing on Wednesday 26 February 2014. It will be a timely opportunity for the Royal Commission to consider the disparity between redress paid by religious institutions compared with that paid by the State.
The girls in Parramatta and Hay were subject to some of the most brutal physical and sexual abuse of any of the Forgotten Australians. The State government issued a formal apology in 2009, but it has never offered redress for anyone in its care. In fact the State government last year slashed the amount of compensation payable to victims of crime.
It appears no-one from the State will be called to give evidence. Instead the Crown Solicitor will read out a statement from the Bar Table. This means there will be no cross-examination of anyone from the State.
View Peter Kelso’s Letter to the Chair of the Royal Commission, The Honourable Justice Peter McClelland AM.
