O'Farrell defends abuse inquiry - Sydney Morning Herald

AAP

NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell has defended his inquiry into child sex abuse by Catholic clergy, saying it will have all the powers of a royal commission and include allegations of a cover-up.

The state opposition says the special commission of inquiry, announced by the government on Friday, will not go far enough.

"This inquiry has all the powers of a royal commission," Mr O'Farrell told ABC radio on Monday.

"It is a royal commission by another name. It will get to the bottom of this issue."

The premier said the inquiry into allegations of child sex abuse by clergy in the Hunter region will also investigate allegations of a cover-up.

"ABC radio repeatedly continues to say that this inquiry will not tackle the Catholic Church (and) allegations of cover-up. It will," he said.

Mr O'Farrell has already said a national inquiry in the form of a royal commission should not go ahead while police investigations are under way.

"A broad-ranging inquiry that could trample or get in the way of those investigations will not provide the justice that families and victims so desperately seek," he said on Monday.

The NSW government had complete confidence in NSW deputy senior crown prosecutor Margaret Cunneen, who will head the inquiry, and would not let politics interfere with due process.

"There's no worse crime than these assaults upon children which effectively rob them of their future," the premier said.

Detective Chief Inspector Peter Fox last week publicly challenged Mr O'Farrell to launch a royal commission, after spending decades investigating clergy abuse around Newcastle.

He described the scope of the inquiry as "embarrassing".

"He has put such restrictive boundaries on it, not only the terms of reference... it's embarrassing, it's nothing about what we asked for," he told ABC radio on Monday.

"If we are going to protect young children, and his responsibility falls all over NSW not just one geographical area, it's not going to achieve much at all."

Insp Fox said a number of police had contacted him since he went public "all telling me certain things".

"We all should have the same interests at heart... let's take politics and religion out of it," he said.

"This has gone on for too long and the cry is becoming louder and louder."

Insp Fox suggested rolling the NSW inquiry into one in Victoria.

"Rather than holding six or seven different inquiries in different states at different times - what a great outcome that would be," he said.