Australian PM apologises to victims of child sex abuse, says 'we failed them'
Melbourne, Oct 22 : Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Monday issued an emotional national apology to thousands of survivors and victims of institutional child sex abuse for failing to protect them from "evil dark" crimes committed over decades and said he was angry at those who have abused the "shield of faith and religion" to hide their misdeeds.
The formal apology followed a national investigation into institutional sexual abuse in Australia, which spanned five years and stunned the country with revelations of thousands of cases of shocking abuse in institutional settings like churches and orphanages.
In a speech which was broadcast live across the country, Morrison said the trauma suffered by the victims had been "hiding in plain sight for too long."
"To the children we failed, sorry. To the parents whose trust was betrayed and who have struggled to pick up the pieces, sorry. To the whistleblowers, who we did not listen to, sorry. To the spouses, partners, wives, husbands, children, who have dealt with the consequences of the abuse, cover-ups and obstruction, sorry. To generations past and present, sorry," Morrison said.
"Silenced voices. Muffled cries in the darkness. Unacknowledged tears. The tyranny of invisible suffering. The never heard pleas of tortured souls, bewildered by an indifference to the unthinkable theft of their innocence."
He said it was a sorry that dare not ask for forgiveness but rather "seeks to reach out in compassion into the darkness, where you have lived for so long" and assured them: "I believe you, we believe you, your country believes you."
In a rare show of emotions, Morrison briefly broke down and fought back tears when he talked of meeting leading author and advocate Chrissie Foster.
"As a father of two daughters I can't comprehend what she has faced," Morrison said. Two of Foster's three daughters, Emma and Katie, were repeatedly abused by a local school Catholic priest near their home in Oakleigh, Melbourne.
Morrison listed the many institutions where abuse has taken place.
"I am angry too at the calculating destruction of lives and the abuse of trust, including those who have abused the shield of faith and religion to hide their crimes, a shield that is supposed to protect the innocent, not the guilty," he further said.
"We can never promise a world where there are no abusers but we can promise a country where we commit to hear and believe our children."
The Prime minister also noted the work government was doing in response to the royal commission, especially the national redress scheme. The apology follows the release of last year's report by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse last year.
The apology comes 10 months after the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse issued a damning final report into the abuse of children at a wide spectrum of institutions reaching back decades.
The report warned that children were still being sexually assaulted.
Morrison and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten both agreed to cancel Monday's Question Time in the House of Representatives out of respect for those affected by abuse.
Among the survivors watching the apology was 96-year-old Katie, who was abused at the Sisters of Saint Joseph orphanage at Gore Hill, on Sydney's north shore. As one of Australia's oldest survivors of child sexual abuse, she said the apology seemed "very sincere".
The national apology was a recommendation from the royal commission, which held nearly 60 public hearings and 8,000 private sessions.
In its final report, the commission estimated the number of child victims in the tens of thousands, saying their abusers were "not just a few rotten apples".
Morrison announced that the Government would also set up a museum, to collect the stories of survivors, and fund a research centre to raise awareness about child abuse.
Shorten also condemned institutions that covered up abuse.
"It was never your fault," he told survivors. "Not then, not now. You have nothing to be ashamed of. There was nothing wrong with you and you did nothing wrong."
Shorten said the apology belonged to people whose lives had been ruined by their abuse and the royal commission was a singular opportunity to act for them.
"We have the power, the authority and the responsibility to turn these recommendations into actions, without caveats or compromise."
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UK Professor Nitasha Kaul's Overseas Citizenship of India cancelled
Academician decries move as "transnational repression"
London/New Delhi: Professor Nitasha Kaul, a London-based academic, announced on May 18, 2025, via a social media post that her Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) card has been cancelled by the Indian government. She described the move as a "bad faith, vindictive, cruel example of transnational repression" intended to punish her for her scholarly work critical of the Modi government's policies concerning minorities and democracy.
The cancellation follows an incident in February 2024 when Professor Kaul, who holds a British passport and held an OCI card, was denied entry into India upon arrival at Bengaluru airport. She had been invited by the then Congress-led Karnataka state government to speak at a conference on "The Constitution and Unity in India."
According to an image of the letter shared by Professor Kaul, the Indian government stated that it had been "brought to the notice of the Government of India that you have been found indulging in anti-India activities, motivated by malice and complete disregard for facts or history." The letter further accused her of regularly targeting India and its institutions on matters of India's sovereignty through "numerous inimical writings, speeches and journalistic activities at various international forums and on social media platforms."
Professor Kaul, who is a Professor of Politics, International Relations, and Critical Interdisciplinary Studies and the Director of the Centre for the Study of Democracy (CSD) at the University of Westminster, London, vehemently rejects these accusations. She stated she had provided a 20,000-word response to what she termed the government's "ridiculous inanity about ‘anti-India’," but the OCI was cancelled through a "rigged process."
In her social media posts, Professor Kaul lamented the decision, questioning how the "mother of democracy" could deny her access to her mother in India. She characterized the action as stemming from "thin-skinned, petty insecurity with no respect for well-intentioned dissent."
The February 2024 denial of entry had already sparked controversy. At the time, immigration officials reportedly cited "orders from Delhi" without providing formal reasons, though Professor Kaul mentioned informal references to her past criticism of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). The Ministry of External Affairs had then responded by stating that the entry of foreign nationals into India is a "sovereign decision." Unofficial government sources had indicated that a "preventive lookout circular" was issued against her due to her alleged "pro-separatist" and "anti-India" stance on Kashmir.
The BJP in Karnataka had criticised the state government for inviting her, labelling her an "anti-India element." Conversely, the then-Karnataka government and various international human rights organizations and academic bodies had condemned the denial of entry.
Professor Kaul has been an outspoken commentator on Indian politics, including the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, and has testified before international bodies such as the US Congress on human rights in the region. She maintains her work is academic and pro-democracy, not anti-India.
The cancellation of her OCI card effectively bars her from entering India, a country to which she has personal and academic ties. This incident adds to a growing list of academics, journalists, and activists of Indian origin whose OCI status has been revoked or who have been denied entry to India in recent years, raising concerns about freedom of speech and dissent. Reports indicate that over 100 OCI cards were cancelled by the Indian government between 2014 and May 2023. Furthermore, in 2021, new rules were introduced requiring OCI cardholders to obtain special permission for activities such as research and journalism.
