We would like to acknowledge the importance of public interest journalism, in compelling governments to take action.  The Newcastle Herald journalist McCarthy wrote more than 1,000 articles on Catholic Church child sex abuse cases in the Hunter region. McCarthy's journalism was a decisive factor in Julia Gillard's decision to announce the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. Previously successive prime ministers said a royal commission was not needed because state inquiries and investigations had been held.

We also acknowledge that such compelling and consquential public interest journalism that enables society and governments to hear the stories of survivors, families and communities, relies on survivors and families of deceased victims, bravely sharing their stories. To whom we are so grateful.

ABC investigative journalist Russell Jackson's extensive, and ongoing coverage of historical child sexual abuse at Beaumaris Primary School, and at other institutions, started with the sharing Rod Owen's story on 3 Apr 2021. Jackson's reporting whilst the Beaumaris Board of Inquiry was underway, even impacted the Board's scope, as Jackson continued to publish evidence based information on perpetrators and the scale of their offending.

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The Victorian Government released its response to the Board of Inquiry on Wednesday 19 June 2024.

Sharing the following published information on the Board of Inquiry recommendations – implementation progress.

"Work is now underway on all recommendations.

Some key activities include:

• establishment of a new Restorative Engagement, Information and Support team within the Department of Education to plan and implement a structured, supportive formal consultation (and for some recommendations, co-design) process that will underpin implementation of a number of the Board of Inquiry’s recommendations. This team is responsible for recommendations 2, 4 and 6 and the ongoing implementation of the restorative engagement program when it is established, in addition to the online hub
• beginning informal discussions with victim-survivors and a range of stakeholder organisations, to help build relationships and foster understanding, laying some of the foundations for the formal consultation and co-design processes
• improving the Report Sexual Abuse webpage as the platform for the online hub (Recommendation 6), with consultation to inform ongoing improvements to its accessibility and purpose
• establishing a monitored telephone line and dedicated email address so that people can receive information and initial assistance and can also register their interest in being kept updated on the Board of Inquiry work:Phone: 03 9057 4500
  Email: board.of.inquiry@education.vic.gov.au
• commencing the program of work required to improve the Department of Education’s records management which includes collecting and cataloguing school records and digitising historic records, to support ease of access
  commencing analysis of options for legislative reform for protection of records shared with boards of inquiry and other types of inquiries established under the Inquiries Act 2014.
  We encourage any victim-survivors or community members to get in touch with us at any time by emailing or calling us using those details above for updates on any of the recommendations or to get involved.

Consultation

The Victorian Government recognises that talking to, and deeply listening to, victim-survivors, their families, and affected communities is key to implementing the recommendations successfully. We are committed to ensuring that their voices are heard and that all community members who want to be involved are able to participate in a safe and inclusive way.

The Department of Education is developing a trauma-informed stakeholder engagement and consultation plan which will include wellbeing supports for participants. Preliminary conversations have commenced with stakeholders in preparation for wider and extensive consultation on the Beaumaris Primary School memorial (Recommendation 2) in particular. Consultation on the other recommendations will follow.

If you would like more information on the consultation process, or would like to register to participate, please register your details.

Governance and accountability structure
Since the Board of Inquiry released its final report, the Victorian Government has set up a robust governance framework to support implementation of the Board of Inquiry’s recommendations. Representatives from key government departments responsible for implementing the recommendations are working together closely to make sure that the reforms are planned, discussed and carried out in a clear and organised way. The government departments are:

Department of Education (DE)
Department of Family, Fairness and Housing (DFFH)
Department of Premier and Cabinet (DPC)."

https://www.vic.gov.au/board-of-inquiry#board-of-inquiry-recommendations-%E2%80%93-implementation-progress

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We are aware of, and grateful for, the ongoing engagement and consultation with survivors, families and communities by the Vic Department of Education. We are pleased that the government is taking time to develop, with feedback from survivors, families and communities, a trauma-informed stakeholder engagement and consultation plan which will include wellbeing supports for participants. 

The Board of Inquiry released its recommendations on 26 February 2024, almost a year ago. So we are hopeful once the trauma-informed stakeholder engagement and consultation plan is in place, there will be a marked acceleration in progress made on the implementation of recommendations.

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We would also like to acknowledge the difference politicians can, and do make, and thank Stuart Grimley for all the support he provided to the Victorian child sexual abuse community, and for the petition, when he was a MP in the Victorian Legislative Council between 2018 and 2022. This included tabling our petition in Victorian Parliament.

Rachel Payne MP, a current member of Victorian Parliament, has picked up where Stuart Grimley left off, following up on questions Stuart raised, that the government has yet to respond to. Rachel has also supported our petition, again asking the Victorian government to meet with us. Which she achieved a commitment to, last year.

Zoe Daniel a federal MP, last year met with members of the Victorian child sexual abuse community, and has also asked the Victorian government to respond to our petition, and requests to meet with us.

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Last, but not least, the success of any petition relies on their supporters. Three years since it was started, our petition now has 16,620 signatures, 2,624 petition shares, 188 people have contributed $17,394 to promote our petition.

We cannot thank you - our supporters - enough!