Royal Commission hearings must be held in Ballarat

The sentiment at a weekly meeting for sex abuse survivors held by  the Centre Against Sexual Assault Ballarat was obvious. 

After years of not being listened to, the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse was their chance to be heard and to help start the healing process. 

Now they have been robbed of it. 

The group was pleased with the community support received during the recent May hearings, but they also fear taking the hearings to Melbourne may take that away.  

“Humphrey” (who did not want to be named) said he originally felt disappointed when he heard of the change, however it had gotten worse since the shock announcement last week. 

“Disappointment doesn't really come near it, I feel like we have been abused again,” he said.  

“They have just pulled the carpet out from under us.

“I feel like it is all gone, it is just another institution abusing me again, not fulfilling what they promised and taking off somewhere else.”

Humphrey said he was concerned the community may not believe the Royal Commission was all it was built up to be. 

“It is not the real deal, they have just pulled the wind from out of the sails and have taken off and left us high and dry,” he said.  

“People will say ‘well it is not as big as we all thought’ and that is what I believe the general community will say.”

With both Cardinal George Pell and former Ballarat bishop Ronald Mulkearns expected to appear at the hearings, Humphrey said it was even more important they were held in Ballarat. 

“There is nothing else that can come into the picture, it is here or it is not worth the paper it is written on,” he said. 

“He (Mulkearns) needs to be here, this is where it happened, he was in charge here, why does it go to Melbourne?

“The whole point is that he is here, that is the whole nucleus of the whole Royal Commission being here in Ballarat, without that it is worthless.” 

Another suvivor at the meeting, Tom Rouhan, said he believed the feeling at the meeting came down to betrayal. 

“There needs to be trust and this type of thing is taking away the trust that they had,” he said.

“I believe most of the guys here felt it was a cop out. It was a way of taking it out of Ballarat and putting it somewhere else, out of sight out of mind. That is where abuse starts, out of sight, out of mind.”

CASA, located on the corner of Vale and Edwards streets, Sebastopol can be contacted  by calling 5320 3933 or free call 24 hours 1800 806 292. 

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses into Child Sexual Abuse must reconsider its decision to move the next Ballarat hearing to Melbourne. 

Ballarat’s political heavyweights have all thrown their support behind a push to have the commission reconsider its decision.

Last week the commission announced November’s hearings would be held in Melbourne, despite a community wide expectation they would be held in Ballarat. Despite the commission putting the move down to “logistics”, there is strong support to see it reconsidered. 

Former Ballarat bishop Ronald Mulkearns and Cardinal George Pell are both expected to appear at the hearings 

Federal Ballarat MP Catherine King along with State MPs Sharon Knight, Geoff Howard and Joshua Morris have all stressed the importance of holding the hearing locally, pleading with the commission to reconsider. 

Ms King hit out at the decision saying it was a disappointment to see the hearings moved away from the city. 

“There are survivors in Ballarat who need the support of family and friends who cannot travel to Melbourne for this hearing,” she said. 

“Many have contacted my office distressed about this move. It is their needs that should be of paramount concern in this process. If Ballarat is to find any solace in this process it needs to be out in the open, it needs to be thorough, and it needs to happen here.”

Ms Knight said she would “strongly request the Royal Commission reconsider its decision”.

“We shouldn't be further traumatising survivors,” she said. “I am more than annoyed, I am really upset about it. I think about the survivors about what it means to them. They have to travel to Melbourne, that might not seem like much to others,  to staff at the Royal Commission, but it is a really traumatising experience for those survivors. 

“The logistics just have to be sorted out. Why are those logistics more important than the logistics of survivors?”

Western Victoria MP Joshua Morris also echoed Ms Knight’s sentiment. 

“I was very disappointed when I heard that the hearings wouldn’t be held in Ballarat. The decision should be reconsidered. If it is at all possible to effectively hold the hearings in Ballarat then that should be the case.”

Mr Howard said he was concerned when he heard about the decision. “Those affected should also be able to hear the responses from the leaders of the institutions where the abuses occurred first hand, in Ballarat without needing to travel to Melbourne.”

The City of Ballarat Mayor believes the  Royal Commission into Institutional Responses into Child Sexual Abuse would be better off holding the November hearings in Ballarat. 

Mayor John Philips said the community needed to face up to what happened. 

“I tend to agree it would be better if it was held here, even though none of us want it to be an issue, it is one,” he said. 

“Letting people off the hook by holding it in Melbourne doesn’t fit all that well with me.” 

Cr Philips said the council has offered the Town Hall’s Trench Room for overflow from the courthouse.  It will also be used even if the hearings are held in Melbourne.  

“They (the commission) said they were holding it in Melbourne to handle the larger numbers (of people) but they should be able to hold it here,” he said. “You do have to clear the air in the sense that this has taken place, it is a terrible thing, and we feel for those affected.”

The decision by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses into Child Sexual Abuse to move the next hearing, slated for Ballarat, to Melbourne is unacceptable. 

The survivors deserve better and so does this community. 

None of the stories we heard during the May hearings were easy to listen to. 

But they were important. 

What occurred in Ballarat and the surrounding area was terrible, unacceptable and for too long has been swept under the rug. 

This is another example of taking this issue out of our city when it is most important for us to hear it. 

The most important people in this entire event is the clergy sex abuse survivors. 

Any decision that is made that does not first consider those survivors is a poor one. 

If we are considering the commission itself, the crowds, Cardinal George Pell or even former bishop Ronald Mulkearns before these survivors, then we have failed them yet again and that is not acceptable. 

The faces that the commission needs to see most are those in Ballarat, and to take it away from them is nothing more than an insult. 

If there is one thing Ballarat can be proud of it is that we took ownership of the commission’s hearings, and what was raised in them, during May.

The city came together and in doing so opened the chance for healing for survivors. The city needs this chance again. 

In making this decision to take away the hearings, the commission has let down the victims and jeopardised a chance for healing. 

If this healing is going to happen, it needs to happen here. 

There should be not other way of looking at it. 

Source: The Courier