Today this Parliament apologises

Premier Ben Carroll tabled the apology statement at a sitting attended by members of the Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council. He also moved a motion that the house endorse the apology.

‘I stand here today to acknowledge a terrible reality: children and young people who should have been safe in Victorian government schools were sexually abused by people entrusted with their care,’ the Premier said.

‘We gather in this place to acknowledge these crimes and the institutional failures that left children unprotected. We also acknowledge the broader reality: child sexual abuse has been committed in schools, institutions and homes across our community.

‘Every victim-survivor had the right to be protected, and every victim-survivor has the right to be heard, believed and treated with care.’

Mr Carroll said the burden of making these crimes heard should never have rested with victim-survivors.

‘Today this Parliament apologises and accepts responsibility, but our responsibility does not end with an apology,’ he said.

‘As victim-survivors have made clear, an apology cannot stand alone. It must be followed by action. We owe it to those here today, those watching or listening elsewhere, those who have never disclosed and those who are no longer with us. We owe it to every child and young person attending a Victorian government school now and into the future.’

Opposition Leader Jess Wilson praised the courage of victim-survivors which paved the way for the ‘historic and long-overdue’ apology.

‘Outside the home, a school should be the safest place for a child to be. When we send our children to school, we are trusting that they will have the opportunity to learn the things that they need to know in order to live a good life,’ she said.

‘But there is a more fundamental trust we place in our schools too, beyond the lessons in the classroom. It is a trust that our children will be safe – that they will be cared for and protected.

‘But for at least 482 Victorian children that trust was betrayed. It was betrayed in the most profound and life altering of ways. It was betrayed because children experienced child sexual abuse while attending Victorian government schools.’

Ms Wilson said there are few crimes that our law and our conscience judge more harshly than child sexual abuse.

‘That is why this Parliament owes survivors more than sympathy,’ she said.

‘It owes them the truth told fully and a system that will never again allow a child’s safety to be compromised.’

Member for Sandringham, Brad Rowswell, who was instrumental in supporting victim-survivors, said the journey to reach this day has been far too long.

‘We say sorry to every victim-survivor of child sexual abuse in Victorian government schools,’ he said.

‘I say sorry because it is the right thing to do. To those victim-survivors, to their families and supporters: I am sorry you were not kept safe. I am sorry that when evil was done to you, you could not speak up. I am sorry that when you did speak you were not believed.

‘I am sorry that this state, its employees, its policymakers, its public servants collectively failed to keep you safe when it was the state that was trusted with your care.’

Mr Rowswell ended by saying the time for words had concluded.

‘From this point, every one of us must be judged solely on our actions,’ he said.

The apology motion was then agreed to in silence, with members showing unanimous agreement by standing in their places.

Read the full speeches in Hansard.