Eighteen years and six premiers later, calls for an inquiry into child sex abuse in Tasmania have been answered

Almost 20 years have passed and six premiers have held office in Tasmania since the Greens first called for a commission of inquiry into child sexual abuse in the state. Key points: A commission of inquiry will this year examine Tasmanian government institutions' responses to allegations of child sexual abuse The Tasmanian Greens tried in 2003 and 2004 to establish a similar Commission of Inquiry Advocates say the inquiry is an important chance to overcome the secrecy that has existed around institutional abuse for too long In November, Premier Peter Gutwein, under increasing pressure as allegations relating to three departments came to light, announced a commission of inquiry to investigate Tasmanian government agencies' responses to allegations of child sexual abuse. "We've known for a long time, certainly through my work, that there have been some very serious systemic issues in terms of how the Tasmanian Government has dealt with issues of child sexual abuse." 'No-one really understands why that was happening' The commission of inquiry will be the first formal investigation of Tasmanian government institutions' responses to child sexual abuse allegations. When he announced the commission of inquiry, Mr Gutwein said the current Government was taking decisive action in response to allegations of child sexual abuse.