Members of the Legislative Assembly and their staff should be required by law to report observed or suspected child abuse or exploitation, the association representing police officers says.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Australian Federal Police Association president Alex Caruana called for changes to child protection laws in the ACT to expand requirements to include Assembly members and staff as mandated reporters.
Mr Caruana's call follows the resignation of the Greens' Johnathan Davis after an internal party review into allegations Mr Davis had sex with a minor and an inappropriate, but not illegal, relationship with a 17-year-old.
Mr Davis resigned from the Legislative Assembly and his party late on Sunday night, and has declined to comment, through a lawyer, on allegations put to him.
The party referred the issues to police on Friday, but no formal complaint has been made. Greens leader Shane Rattenbury has acknowledged a young person raised concerns with the party about the potential illegal sharing of explicit images.
Mr Caruana said it was reasonable to include Assembly members and staff in the same category as existing mandatory reporters, such as doctors, midwives, teachers, police officers and ministers of religion.
"Given recent media coverage, I think there needs to be an expansion to the mandated reporter criteria. In the course of their duties, members of the Legislative Assembly and their staff may receive information that should be reported to the appropriate authorities in order to protect children and young people in the ACT," Mr Caruana said.
READ MORE:
"We welcome the recent commentary announcing an independent inquiry into the handling of the Davis allegations and further support the comments from the Speaker of the ACT Legislative Assembly, Joy Burch MLA, about reviewing the provisions of mandatory reporting legislation."
Mr Caruana said members of the Assembly and their staff were not the right people to make enquiries if they are made aware of an allegation of child abuse or exploitation.
"It must be mandatorily reported to the authorities, such as ACT Policing and Child and Youth Protection Services. Let the experts do their job," he said.
"We recommend including members of the Legislative Assembly and their staff in section 356 of the Children and Young People Act. This should clear up any ambiguity regarding the reporting of child abuse and exploitation in the ACT."
Deputy Chief Minister Yvette Berry announced on Tuesday that an independent inquiry will examine the handling of the allegations made against Mr Davis.
Ms Berry said the government intended to set up an inquiry with clear and concise terms of reference, examine what has happened and improve Assembly processes in the future.
Jasper Lindell
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
