From : Victims of Kevin Lynch Royal Commission Case Study 34 Re : Brisbane Grammar School and Royal Commission Case Study 34 URGENT ATTENTION : Refund of School Fees In response to the communication dated 22 December 2016, from Senior Policy Advisor, Don Wilson on behalf of the Queensland Minister for Education, the Honourable Kate Jones, victims in Case Study 34 respond as follows : 1. Yes of course victims of sexual abuse in this horrific Royal Commission Case Study 34 are naturally angry at Brisbane Grammar School who failed so many young people at the time and now continue to fail all survivors and their families. Notwithstanding the Minister’s consideration, it should be noted surviving victims in Case Study 34 nevertheless are highly sceptical that the Board of Brisbane Grammar School as currently constituted have in fact the interests of victims at the forefront of minds when acting and making decisions to prevent future horrific acts of sexual abuse occurring. 2. It should be drawn to the immediate attention of the Minister, the recent overwhelming support on a Change.org petition for Brisbane Grammar School Trustees to reconsider the current refusal of the Board to refund School Fees paid by parents of victims of Kevin Lynch when they were attending the School in the 1970’s and 1980’s. https://www.change.org/p/the-board-of-trustees-of-the-brisbane-grammar-school-refund-of-tuition-fees-to-parents-of-kevin-lynch-s-brisbane-grammar-school-victims?source_location=minibar 3. In past two weeks the petition seeking the Board of Brisbane Grammar School to immediately refund school fees has attracted support from over 4,500 people and counting. No doubt significantly more will steadily react positively to this petition, as it raises a significant question. The question on everyone’s lips is when should a Private School and not just Brisbane Grammar School, be bound by a requirement to refund School Fees, paid by hard working parents? 4. So far the reaction from the victims of Kevin Lynch, their parents and family, friends and supporters, the overwhelmingly response seems to be in favour of refunding School fees. That is in situations where there has been a failure of “Duty of Care.” When hard working parents expect their child to be safe and not either bullied or sexually abused or physically assaulted while attending fee paying school or any School for that matter, it raises the prospect and expectation of School fees being refunded in such instances. 5. Such a question of refunding School fees paid by parents was unfortunately not raised by the Royal Commission.This was remiss of the Commission. Although accepted may fall outside the scope of the Royal Commission’s terms of reference in any event. Therefore it would be an issue for the Queensland Minister of Education to consider further and provide a direct and immediate response. Victims in Royal Commission Case Study 34 await an immediate response from the Minister, given the School are refusing to refund fees. 6. It should be drawn to the attention of the Minister that Pursuant to the Grammar School Act 1975, Part 3 Division 5 Section 46C (1), the Minister has in fact the powers to issue a Direction to the Board of Trustees in certain circumstances where the financial viability is threaten. It is argued in these circumstances where the public confidence in Brisbane Grammar School is being threatened, as the School under the gaze of the public eyes are not doing the “Right thing” by accepting the need to refund School fees in these circumstances. If left unchecked it could quickly result in parents immediately withdrawing their child or children from the School. This in turn is almost certainly going to result in future financial difficulty and therefore threaten the viability of the School. Public confidence in Institutions as evidenced by other recent cases when public confidence is tarnished can be rather fickle. While certainly there is a “Cost Attached” to doing the “Right Thing,” however that is what the public expect in these situations, rather than the Institution attempting to “Shirk their Financial Obligations.” Parents may now have second thoughts if Fees are not refunded. 7. It is the expected, “Obligations, ” without any quibble at the actual costs, public trust might be quickly restored. Parents may begin to quickly consider alternative Schools, if the Minister does not intervene immediately and restore the quickly evaporating public faith. 8. Aside from the numbers who have supported victim’s petition to refund School fees is the even more compelling numbers of comments left by supporters. These comments are not particularly flattering and rather scathing of Brisbane Grammar School’s wholly unacceptable approach of “Shirking Financial Responsibility.” These comments are on public display via the Change.org petition website. That is should the Minister care to read what we all now publicly think and say about Brisbane Grammar School’s attitude towards victims in Royal Commission Case Study 34. Public shaming of Brisbane Grammar School need not have been the case, if the School had in fact immediately accepted the full responsibility and liability for the financial mess of the Trustees own making. 9. If the Trustees of Brisbane Grammar claim, as per the 2015-2016 Annual Report that the School has settled and dealt with claims relating to sexual abuse, this is in direct conflict to the experiences of victims who are known to the School. Apart from a select few individual victims, the majority of victims have found Brisbane Grammar School to be declining to offer any form of financial settlement to victims. This includes refusing to offer to refund School fees. If the Board of Trustees is to be believed in any of their public statements including those submitted to the Minister, then there would not have been any need for a public petition. So far attracting over 4,500 supporters who believe as victims do that School Fees should be refunded without any further hesitation. 10. With all due respect to the relevant legislation, it surely is a criminal matter if the School are not being fully truthful in relevant public Statements including those in an Annual Report submitted directly to the Minister. Under such grounds where there has already been proven inaccurate statements made by Mr Stack as Chair of the Board to the Minister, the Minister most surely immediately order a School inspection of Brisbane Grammar School to ascertain what is fact and fiction of statements issued by the Board in relation to the status of claims of victims. Victims assert that the School has not in fact fully settling the large volumes of claims, that are most definitely yet to be settled. 11. There would not have been such a public display of support for victim’s petition, if the public claims of Brisbane Grammar School that they have in fact adequately dealt with victims of Kevin Lynch were true. The statements issued by the Chair, Mr Stack on behalf of Brisbane Grammar School are most definitely not true and is why victims have become so angry at the very School who make false and misleading public Statements to the Minister. The Board may wish the statements were true, possibly in the hope that a number of victims may give up or worse actually commit suicide, as sadly a number of victims have taken their own life. 12. Surely the Minister would concur with the public sentiment that providing adequate financial support for victim restitution is now an absolute priority. That is since a year has now passed since the 2015 Royal Commission hearing and there has been so far no sign, the School is willing to engage with all victims and settle all liabilities. Victims assert the final quantum cost to Brisbane Grammar School is almost certainly in the order of $50 million. 13. The public perception of Brisbane Grammar School as evidenced by public comments from victim’s petition is now one of a very arrogant Board of Trustees who seem to be more self interested in indulging in their own delusions that the problems of financial Redress can be simply avoided and palmed off to the Australian Federal Budget, via a proposed sexual abuse Redress Scheme. That is, rather than the School honouring the financial obligations that derive from the abhorrent poor governance of the School, the Board of Trustee obviously seem to think it is acceptable behaviour to move responsibility for the financial clean-up to the public purse, sometime in the future, by a publicly funded Redress Scheme. 14. One would have thought and expected following the Royal Commission hearing in November 2015, Brisbane Grammar School would have been far more accommodating of the needs of victims. This is obviously not the case, as current experiences are a testimony to the absolute refusal of the Board of Trustees to adequately engage with victims. 15. The School should be accepting of the internal financial implications that the clean-up costs and liability entailed and not attempting to push this burden onto other tax payers who could never afford let alone earn the high fees required to attend Brisbane Grammar School. Victims doubt the majority of the voting public who send their children to high quality States School will be very impressed, if they themselves as hard working parents are expected to shoulder indirectly via the public purse the failings of Brisbane Grammar School. 16. Queensland constituents will therefore likely in part judge the future performance of the Minister and the Queensland Premier in now handling a response to Brisbane Grammar School’s refusal to adequately compensate victims of sexual abuse in Royal Commission Case study 34. 17. There are a number of other significant issues that need to be raised in a further full response to the Minister’s letter dated 22 December 2016. However these issues can now wait until the Minister adequately considers and responds to this most pressing and urgent issue as now highlighted. Statement made by victims of Kevin Lynch who attended Brisbane Grammar School in Royal Commission Case Study 34 on this Day the 8th of January 2017 Lynch Victim Signature Respond via email to : lynchvictim@gmail.com