NSW, Victoria sign up to child abuse redress scheme, with bill to reach hundreds of millions of dollars

by AndersonsInfo 8 Replies latest watchtower child-abuse

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  AndersonsInfo

  https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/nsw-victoria-sign-up-to-child-abuse-redress-scheme-with-bill-to-reach-hundreds-of-millions-of-dollars-20180308-p4z3ia.html

  By David Crowe

  8 March 2018

  Victims of child sexual abuse are a step closer to a national scheme that could help them gain justice for past wrongs, as the NSW and Victorian governments sign up to new laws that offer practical services as well as compensation up to a $150,000 cap.

  The new pact intensifies pressure on churches and other groups to submit to the scheme and help victims recover from abuse that dates back decades, putting the primary responsibility on the institutions to fund the payments and support services.

  READ MORE: https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/nsw-victoria-sign-up-to-child-abuse-redress-scheme-with-bill-to-reach-hundreds-of-millions-of-dollars-20180308-p4z3ia.html
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  smiddy3

  Thanks Barbara for posting this.the premier of Victoria Daniel Andrews stated that the institutions non Govt./churches etc are not getting away with any loopholes they have now been closed .

  And victims have the opportunity to sue institutions and churches that may not opt in to the redress scheme apparently with the support from the Vic. Govt.if I read it right.

  I think the Victorian Govt. went a step of the way ahead of the NSW Govt.in giving support to the victims of abuse however it is great that both states have thrown their support and opted in to this redress scheme.

  Hopefully other state and territories will do so and

  ESPECIALLY churches and other institutions opt in to this redress scheme which is a voluntary thing to do and not all of them has done so yet.

  The catholic church has agreed to opt in now that the states have agreed to it

  The Jehovah`s Witnesses ? What do you reckon
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  smiddy3

  No other comments ?
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  AbusedandPissed

  Don't know why JWs wouldn't join the scheme. Under the ARC own recommendations, there would only be a small amount of the 1700 victims that would qualify for any kind of payment let alone at the top amount.
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  zeb

  Once a few go for and receive compensation others may be (hopefully) inspired to seek the same.
  
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  jwleaks

  smiddy3 - no other comments?

  Just waiting for the government to release the details and vote through the new legislation to close the loopholes used by religion to claim 'poor.'

  The Catholic Church in Victoria, Australia, uses the same accounting methods as the Jehovah's Witness Church. Interestingly Watchtower Australia claims no assets or real estate in Victoria and under $2million in real estate Australia-wide.

  See news links:

  http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-02-12/catholic-church-worth-$30-billion-investigation-finds/9422246

  https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/state/vic/2018/02/12/vast-wealth-of-catholic-church-revealed/

  https://www.smh.com.au/national/catholic-church-s-massive-wealth-revealed-20180209-p4yzus.html

  http://www.clan.org.au/news/2018-02-12-with-30b-in-wealth-why-is-the-catholic-church-struggling-to-pay-for-justice
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  smiddy3

  Thanks jwleaks

  So this is tied up with the premier of Victoria Daniel Andrews promise to abolish that which protects Church assets from Abuse victim claims .?

  "The Ellis Defence" ?
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  AbusedandPissed

  It is not just that victim has to be willing to step forward but both the victim and the perpetrator have to meet criteria for the victim to actually receive compensation from what happened to them.

  Main one for the victim is that they can never have been convicted of a felony crime.

  For the perpetrator, it is not only that they have had to be an associate of an organization but that the organization had to have been aware of their propensity to commit this crime because they had done it before. So for the victims where they were the first to be abused or if the abuse stopped once the associated organization found out about it, those victims would not qualify for compensation. Nor would victims of serial abusers if any of the victims did not inform the associated organization or the civil authorities of the abuse.
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  AbusedandPissed

  According to the Redress Scheme from the Department of Social Services.

  https://www.dss.gov.au/families-and-children/programs-services/children/redress-scheme-for-people-who-have-experienced-institutional-child-sexual-abuse

  The majority of the cases with Watchtower was family cases.

  The type of abuse	It must include sexual abuse. An institution must be responsible for the abuse. The Scheme doesn’t cover non-institutional abuse, such as by a family member.
  Where and when it happened	The abuse must have happened when the person was aged under 18. It must have happened before 1 July 2018, when the Scheme starts. The institution or organisation responsible for the abuse must have joined the Redress Scheme. So far, only the Commonwealth, New South Wales and Victorian governments have agreed to join the scheme.
  A person’s life now	The person applying must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident.