CITATION: Mike Ahern

Former Premier Mike Ahern made his disclosures to the media about the failure, by the Royal Commission into the Institutional Response to Child Sexual Abuse, to investigate allegations about a major paedophile case in Queensland, or to inquire into the response by Queensland police allegedly to closedown investigations of the same case, and, allegedly, to persecute honest police who attempted to reopen that case.

The reason reported to have been given to Mr Ahern by the Royal Commission was that the case did not involve an institution.

Mr Ahern’s disclosure has given voice to many concerns held by the victims of child sexual abuse in Queensland, and their families, about the failure of the Royal Commission to make sufficient inquiries outside of selected religious groups, in particular, of the police and of justice institutions.

QWAG wrote of its concerns when the Royal Commission was established, to Prime Minister Gilliard and Opposition Leader Abbott. QWAG reported to the Royal Commission our concerns about differences in how limited inquiries in Queensland were being reported. QWAG noted the Royal Commissions own statistics about the hundreds of complaints made to police, yet the Commission was blaming only the religious for the lack of a full and proper response.

When asked why the Police Commissioners from each state too were not called before the Royal Commission, as were the bishops, the Royal Commission claimed that the Commission did not have the time.

But QWAG’s voice and that of families, affected by police and justice authorities and their institutional response, are as small as the voice that church victims had before the Royal Commission was established.

Mr Ahern’s disclosures, from his position of high standing, give visibility to the divided character of that Royal Commission. Mr Ahern's disclosures will quickly bring public interest, QWAG hopes, to the obvious question as to why the police, who had the power to investigate offending churchmen, police officers and justice officers, may not have done this.

Why too has not the Royal Commission shown sufficient interest into the allegations of inaction and cover-ups by institutions whose officers had the power and the role to investigate those decades of complaints?

Why was the focus that was put on Cardinals by this Royal Commission not also placed on Commissioners?