It began with a podcast about “a man who worked with children, a man who hurt children, a man who got away with it”.
Those familiar with the story of James Geoffrey Griffin will recognise the introduction to journalist Camille Bianchi’s podcast, The Nurse.
Over several episodes in 2020, she told the tale of a paedophile who worked on a children’s ward at Launceston General Hospital for 18 years, who charmed those around him, while grooming and abusing the children he came into contact with.
As Bianchi shone a light on the horrors that Tasmania had been hiding, public and political pressure to do something mounted.
In November 2020 — with concerns about the state’s youth detention centre also front of mind — then-premier Peter Gutwein announced there would be a Commission of Inquiry into the Tasmanian Government’s Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in Institutional Settings.
Mr Gutwein, who later revealed he was a victim of sexual assault himself, warned Tasmanians to ready themselves.
But nothing could have prepared the state for the shocking allegations of abuse and system failures that have been uncovered by the Commission of Inquiry.
It quickly became clear that sexual predators have thrived amongst the state’s most vulnerable — and the failures of those in power have allowed them to get away with it.
There were inept systems that weren’t designed to catch grooming or paedophiles, an absolute lack of training in recognising grooming or child sexual abuse, ineffective complaint systems, underqualified staff, serious reports that were misplaced, “shredded” or labelled “outright misleading” and a lack of will to do anything more than what was required.
At the Launceston General Hospital, management ignored staff concerns about Griffin’s “creepy” behaviour and preference for young girls, while counsel assisting the inquiry admitted the true extent of Griffin’s offending might never be known.
Elsewhere, in the education system, the inquiry revealed paedophile teachers were kept at work while investigations dragged on. In some cases, they were simply moved to other schools.
The sheer scale of sexual abuse allegations in out-of-home care was found to be overwhelming, amounting to one allegation per week for the past eight years.
At the Ashley Youth Detention Centre, stories emerged of a boy forced to perform sex acts for medication, a girl who was put on the pill because of the risk of sexual assault and tales of invasive strip searches, beatings and gang rapes.
The Commission of Inquiry has shown that not only did Tasmania fail to protect children from sexual abuse, in many cases it enabled it — some might argue it still is.
The commission, though, has done its job, exposing the shocking reality that was sitting just below the surface — horrors that could’ve been found with just a little more digging on the part of those in charge.
This was perhaps most obvious when under questioning from counsel assisting Elizabeth Bennett SC, the CEO of the North and North West Hospitals Eric Daniels conceded he’d never ordered an investigation into the Launceston General Hospital because he didn’t have the information the commission had uncovered.
Information, Ms Bennett pointed out, that could have been found if an investigation had been ordered.
But that lack of curiosity was not confined to the hospital; it cropped up again in the hearings into the Ashley Youth Detention Centre.
Department Secretary Michael Pervan confirmed they had had access to 172 redress claims involving the facility, but couldn’t “recall” if he’d tried to work out if they related to current staff.
Spoiler alert: they did.
So, what’s next is the question many victim-survivors and whistleblowers who gave evidence are asking.
There can be no doubt that the commissioners are passionate and have been moved by the evidence they’ve heard. Their recommendations are certain to be extensive.
The question is, is there the political willpower to do anything?
On the final day, commission president Marcia Neave pointed to the work that still needed to be done to implement all of the recommendations of the national Royal Commission into child sexual abuse, released in 2017.
But the act of launching a Commission of Inquiry — and announcing a subsequent review of child safety at the hospital — shows there’s an appetite for change.
While the commission’s recommendations can’t be pre-empted, the government has already set another test for itself — the closure of Ashley Youth Detention Centre by 2024.
Over the course of the hearings, Ashley was given many labels — the gladiator pit, a war zone, out of control and “the kindergarten of Risdon”, Tasmania’s adult prison.
Counsel assisting Rachel Ellyard even went as far as to suggest it’s Ashley itself that’s “the monster”.
It should come as no surprise then that there have been calls to close it down immediately or “raze it to the ground”.
Premier Jeremy Rockliff said he’d heard the calls and if he could shut it down sooner, he would — but he couldn’t.
Keep in mind that Ms Ellyard told the commission the government was already aware of all the abuse allegations at Ashley because of the successive reports released in the past two decades.
Meanwhile, as the detention centre attempts to deal with its staff shortages, it has started an interstate recruitment campaign targeting workers at other youth justice centres, including the NT’s Don Dale — a place rife with reports of historical child abuse that was recommended to be shut down years ago.
The Commission of Inquiry’s final report is due in May but there could be interim recommendations before that.
“We look to all Tasmanians to continue efforts to ensure the safety of children and young people from sexual abuse after our work has ended,” Ms Neave said.
As for who will hold the government to account, the Labor opposition has stayed relatively quiet so far, while the Greens have stepped up with their party of two.
But victim-survivors are hoping the responsibility for change won’t land back on their already burdened shoulders.