8chan/8kun QResearch AUSTRALIA Posts (3)
#19529255 at 2023-09-11 11:25:28 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #32: YOU ARE NOT ALONE IN THIS FIGHT Edition
Roman Catholic Archbishop Tim Costelloe fronts WA parliamentary inquiry into institutional child sexual abuse
Briana Shepherd and Keane Bourke - 11 September 2023
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The difficulties survivors of child sexual abuse face when attempting to pursue justice is a reality of complexities of the church, the Catholic Archbishop of Perth says.
Timothy Costelloe made the statements while testifying before the Community Development and Justice Standing Committee's inquiry into the options available to survivors of institutional child sexual abuse in Western Australia who are seeking justice.
He also rejected claims that he was trying to evade responsibility of being "dishonest" in his communication on the issue.
Described variously as a "war of attrition" and an "attempt to break you down", survivors have spoken of unnecessarily long delays in legal proceedings and unreasonable demands for information.
Archbishop Costelloe, who has been the Catholic Archbishop of Perth since 2012 and gave evidence at the 2017 Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, began with an apology and a pledge.
"I wanted to take this opportunity to repeat again, on behalf of the church I lead in the Archdiocese of Perth, my sincere apology to those who have been so badly wronged by members of the Catholic Church," he said.
"I continue to be horrified by the extent of this abuse in Catholic institutions and am personally shamed by the failure of so many of our leaders to respond with compassion and integrity.
"The safety and wellbeing of children and young people in Catholic settings is now a fundamental priority for us all."
After his opening statement, the archbishop was questioned at length over reports from survivors as to the difficulty they have faced when attempting to deal with the Catholic Church, be it finding information or attempting to begin legal action.
Archbishop Costelloe responded to the many questions of this nature by firstly highlighting that the Catholic Church was a complex organisation, and by pointing out that his jurisdiction did not extend across the whole state.
"[I want to] just reiterate if I may that each diocese - and there are four in Western Australia, about 30 around the country - is headed up by a bishop," he said.
"Every bishop is directly responsible to the Holy See, so we don't have a structure of a national church or a national leader of the church in Australia.
"The reality of the church is much more complex than people appreciate and that's not to make any excuse for it, it is the reality."
When asked his thoughts on how a survivor may feel re-traumatised when seeking justice only to be told they had not come to the right place, or to have someone tell the survivor it was someone else's responsibility, Archbishop Costelloe responded in a similar vein.
"I'm not trying to hide anything, or evade responsibility, I'm trying to explain how I operate within the reality of where I find myself," he said.
"I reject the suggestion that I am being dishonest or insincere in anything I've said about my commitment to this issue.
"I belong to the church and must operate within the reality of the church, we may or may not like the reality of the way the church is structured, I can't change it, I have to operate within it.
"I'm doing that to best of my ability and really want to say strongly I do not accept I'm being dishonest, insensitive or in any way unresponsive."
Archbishop Costelloe said the WA Professional Standards Office was the appropriate body for first contact for survivors, but conceded it might not be well enough known, and highlighted the church's improved accountability.
"Through our safeguarding program here in the Archdiocese of Perth, and through the establishment of Australian Catholic Safeguarding Limited at the national level, stringent protocols have been adopted and embedded in the way in which the Catholic Archdiocese of Perth operates," he said.
"Our compliance with these protocols will be regularly audited and the results made public.
"As a result, church authorities will now operate with full accountability to the Catholic community and the community at large."
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#19397649 at 2023-08-21 09:59:07 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #31: MAGIC SWORD - IN THE FACE OF EVIL Edition
>>19397646
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On Sunday at the Marion Church of Christ in the southern Adelaide suburb of Mitchell Park, Mr Pearson was with reverend Tim Costello as the Baptist minister explained why his faith led him to decide to vote Yes. He said he drew upon the sermon of the good Samaritan because it was about "seeing the humanity".
"We didn't see Indigenous people when we federated as a ?nation," Dr Costello said.
"It is very important that we see and recognise them now. This is a very small, safe step."
Dr Costello believes the church hymn Amazing Grace - the favourite of late land rights giant ?Yunupingu - is a reminder of the important role that Christians can play in important reforms. It was written by slavery abolitionist John Newton.
"This voice issue is I think within the DNA of Christians who sing Amazing Grace," he said.
Asked if he could convert undecided voters, Dr Costello said: "I hope so. I like to say that I want my faith to influence my politics but I don't want the ?reverse. The voice is not bipartisan and I wish it was. Christians do tend to go into their political tribes in an election, but this is not an election.
"I am encouraging people: 'allow your faith to speak to you and rise above simply the partisanship' of this now being a left-right issue."
The Australian understands churches and local governments will be used more by the Yes case in order to usher undecided and soft No voters into the Yes camp.
While a multi-faith coalition of top religious leaders backed the voice last year, they have not been as vocal as some had expected in the lead up to the final stretch of the referendum.
The invitations from faith groups to Yes campaigners have been plentiful over the past month, however.
Dr Costello is amping up his advocacy for the voice and will visit Perth next.
Groups taking part in the campaign in recent days include the Sangha Association, mosques and Uniting Care.
On Sunday, senators Cash, Liddle and Nampijinpa Price criticised corporations that financially backed the voice and suggested they could instead make donations to help Indigenous people now, such as by donating to a women's shelter, a school with troubled students in Alice Springs or by asking Indigenous communities how to make a difference.
Mr Pearson responded by ?arguing that corporates that supported the Yes campaign were also spending money on improving Indigenous people's lives.
"They are doing initiatives to engage Indigenous people in employment and in business opportunities, and so on," he said.
"The companies that are signing up to the Yes campaign are companies that have been doing this for a long Time, helping Indigenous people to develop economically, with employment and other opportunities. That they are supporting the Yes campaign is at the invitation of our people. We want them to help us."
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/penny-wong-and-noel-pearson-hit-the-churches-and-the-temples-to-preach-for-the-voice/news-story/b282f80874d02929e6637aad70eb1fb0
#13029097 at 2021-02-23 07:23:23 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #13 - THE WAR IS REAL Edition
>>12867040
Victorian government announces royal commission into Crown casino
Sumeyya Ilanbey and Patrick Hatch - February 22, 2021
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Crown's future as the operator of its giant Melbourne casino has been thrown into doubt after the state government announced an unprecedented inquiry into whether the company had broken the law and was suitable to hold a gaming licence in Victoria.
The $5 million royal commission, to be run by former Federal Court judge Ray Finkelstein and due to report on August 1, will also be required to say whether any Victorian law should be changed after the company's links with organised crime and money laundering were revealed in reports in The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald, and a scathing NSW inquiry.
Shortly after the government announced the royal commission, Crown informed the sharemarket that long-serving director Harold Mitchell would step down from the company's board - the fifth director including the CEO to be forced out in the past fortnight.
The state government said in a statement the royal commission was a response to the "serious findings" of the NSW Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority (ILGA) inquiry, which ruled Crown unfit to hold a casino licence at its newly built Barangaroo complex in Sydney. The Western Australian government has since also announced a judicial inquiry into the operations of the Crown casino in Perth.
Mr Finkelstein is a highly regarded barrister in Victoria who was appointed a judge of the Federal Court in 1997 but retired in 2011 and returned to private practice. His terms of reference are tightly focused on the company's officeholders and the Victorian law, and include investigating whether Crown Melbourne or any of its representatives were suitable to hold a casino licence, whether it was in the public interest for Crown to continue holding its licence and whether there were any changes required to Victorian legislation.
The Victorian government said a royal commission's ability to compel witnesses and documents made it the best way to establish the facts. Premier Daniel Andrews issued a statement saying the inquiry was "about making sure that those who hold a casino licence in Victoria uphold the highest standards of probity and integrity - and that they're accountable for their actions".
But Mr Andrews did not attend Monday afternoon's press conference, leaving Gaming Minister Melissa Horne to answer questions. Ms Horne said the reports from the NSW inquiry were "incredibly concerning".
Helen Coonan, Crown's executive chairman, said in a statement that Crown "welcomes the announcement" and the company would "fully cooperate with the royal commission".
"It provides an opportunity to detail the reforms and changes to our business to deliver the highest standards of governance and compliance, and an organisational culture that meets community expectations," she said.
Reverend Tim Costello, chief advocate for the Alliance for Gambling Reform, said he was "thrilled".
"For nearly 20 years I've been saying we need a royal commission, and I didn't think I'd live to see it. Maybe I can now depart in peace." He said Mr Finkelstein was "a really good appointment". But he warned that it was unlikely Crown would lose its licence as a result of the royal commission.
However, "Crown would still be feeling quite comfortable", he said, pointing out that the Andrews government had extended its licence to 2050. "During the Bergin inquiry, Premier Andrews said of course we wouldn't be cancelling Crown's licence. … [so] we know Crown still have a fair bit of protection."
He said Victorians had "lost confidence in Crown and in the government's ability to govern Crown".
Federal MP Andrew Wilkie, elected on a gambling reform platform a decade ago to a seat in Tasmania, said the royal commission was the only credible option left to the Andrews government.
"For decades a series of Victorian governments, Liberal and Labor, have profited from the organised crime run out of the state's only casino … A judicial inquiry can hopefully also get to the bottom of the political protection racket that has plagued this issue."
Anti-gambling campaigner Stephen Mayne said the royal commission also needed to "compel current and former Victorian regulators and key political figures, including Jeff Kennett, Daniel Andrews and former gaming minister Marlene Kairouz to give evidence, broadening on the work of the Bergin inquiry, which focused more on Crown personnel".
"Issues worthy of exploration include evidence of Crown's lobbying and political power, including through the regular political donations that it makes and the long line of political figures that it has hired to influence the political and regulatory process."
(continued)