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Canberra Today 12°/15° | Saturday, March 30, 2024 | Digital Edition | Crossword & Sudoku

Forrest club punished for not acknowledging past abuse

Inside the Forrest Tennis Club pavilion. Photo: Facebook

A CANBERRA tennis club is one of only three required institutions in Australia that have failed to sign up to the national redress scheme.

The Forrest Tennis Club, located just a little more than 1km from the senate chamber on Capital Hill, has been banned from receiving Australian government grants as a result.

Minister for Families and Social Services Anne Ruston had also named a basketball club in Victoria and a church in Tasmania after not fulfilling their “moral obligation” in relation to the royal commission into victims of institutional child sexual abuse.

The principle of the scheme has been to acknowledge that children were sexually abused in institutions, recognise their suffering they endured and offer counselling and compensation over the abuse, and also holding the responsible institutions accountable for this abuse.

“It is completely unacceptable that three further institutions have failed to meet their moral obligation to join the national redress scheme,” Ms Ruston said.

“These are institutions, which know they have been named in applications and yet they have chosen to shirk their responsibility to finally do the right thing by these survivors.”

Further penalties could also include the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission revoking any relevant charitable status.

Ginninderra Cricket Club, near Belconnen, had attempted to join the scheme, but did not meet “legislative requirements” to do so, Ms Rushton said.

She did not outline what part of the requirements the cricket club fell short.

But 32 other institutions across the nation, including those with links to the AFL but none of their clubs, have joined the scheme.

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse had listened to thousands of victims about abuse they experienced as children in orphanages, children’s homes, foster care, schools, churches, hospitals, sporting clubs and other institutions.

More than $500 million has been committed from the scheme for nearly 6000 payments to victims following almost 11,000 applications.

Changes to the scheme will allow the terminally-ill and elderly survivors of child sex abuse to have to access up to $10,000 each almost immediately, after the extended time it has taken to process compensation claims.

Institutions, not previously named, have six months to join the scheme once an applicant lodges a complaint.

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Ian Meikle, editor

Andrew Mathieson

Andrew Mathieson

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