5 years ago
TIME IS UP FOR ROYAL COMMISSION CHIEFS
BILL SHORTEN MP
It is time for the Morrison Government to remove the two Royal Commissioners with such entrenched conflicts of interest their continued involvement will taint the work of this important inquiry.
The Senate has now backed the calls of the Australian Labor Party and the disability community for the Government to act to preserve the integrity of the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability.
This commission is a chance to let sunlight in, expose historical wrongs and learn from them so we can provide better services to people with disability and eradicate abuse and neglect from their lives in the future.
But that will be impossible to achieve if we have two commissioners who could end up in charge of investigating themselves, their former colleagues or their former workplaces.
John Ryan, is an ex-Liberal politician, NSW shadow minister for disability, and a public servant who had oversight of residential care programs for people with disability in NSW.
Barbara Bennett was deputy secretary for families and communities at the Department of Social Services and at various times oversaw the Commonwealth workplace health and compensation scheme, the National Redress Scheme, welfare, family safety, housing and homelessness, and grants to the disability sector.
Barbara Bennett and John Ryan should have already listened to the voices of the disability community, recognised that they are fundamentally conflicted, and stood down from these roles.
Since they have not then it falls to the Coalition Government to do the right thing and remove them.
Labor has called for this.
Sixty groups representing people with disability have already called for this.
Now the Senate is calling for it.
Time is up for these two. It’s time for the Government to act.
The Senate has now backed the calls of the Australian Labor Party and the disability community for the Government to act to preserve the integrity of the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability.
This commission is a chance to let sunlight in, expose historical wrongs and learn from them so we can provide better services to people with disability and eradicate abuse and neglect from their lives in the future.
But that will be impossible to achieve if we have two commissioners who could end up in charge of investigating themselves, their former colleagues or their former workplaces.
John Ryan, is an ex-Liberal politician, NSW shadow minister for disability, and a public servant who had oversight of residential care programs for people with disability in NSW.
Barbara Bennett was deputy secretary for families and communities at the Department of Social Services and at various times oversaw the Commonwealth workplace health and compensation scheme, the National Redress Scheme, welfare, family safety, housing and homelessness, and grants to the disability sector.
Barbara Bennett and John Ryan should have already listened to the voices of the disability community, recognised that they are fundamentally conflicted, and stood down from these roles.
Since they have not then it falls to the Coalition Government to do the right thing and remove them.
Labor has called for this.
Sixty groups representing people with disability have already called for this.
Now the Senate is calling for it.
Time is up for these two. It’s time for the Government to act.