On June 18, in an article in The Canberra Times on the official inquiry into how and why a 10-year-old autistic child was contained in a cage at an ACT public school, we concluded there was little confidence the matter "would be resolved in timely and transparent fashion" – in part because of Education Minister Joy Burch's clumsy handling of the matter to that point, but also because of her spotty administrative record. More than two months on, that forecast has proved sadly prescient. On Thursday, and under growing pressure from the Canberra Liberals to deliver, Ms Burch was unable to say when the inquiry findings might be presented to the government, or indeed if all aspects of it would be made public, as "privacy and legal restraints" had to be considered. She allowed, however, that she was "deeply frustrated with the delays", and had sought answers from Education Director-General Diane Joseph and other officials.
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Well might Ms Burch express frustration, since, when first apprised of the incident in April, she gave every indication the resulting investigation would be swift and decisive. "Words cannot put into place my absolute disappointment and horror that anyone in our schools would consider a structure of this nature in any way, shape or form to be acceptable," she said of the child being confined to a cage made from pool fencing panels. Underlining her concerns, Ms Burch also announced a wide-ranging review of the handling of children with challenging behaviour in ACT public schools, to be headed by emeritus Professor Anthony Shaddock.
On June 17, some six weeks on, Ms Burch forecast the cage inquiry would be complete within three weeks. It seems clear the prediction was in part an attempt to sooth the concerns of parents of children at the affected school, some of whom had complained at the lack of official communication. If so, it was probably an inadvisable forecast. For that very week, bureaucrats questioned in the Legislative Assembly by opposition education spokesman Steve Doszpot revealed a somewhat confusing state of affairs. Mr Doszpot was told initially that the delay was the result of key witnesses being on leave, only for the bureaucrats to recant soon after and ascribe the delay to the complexity of the issues under investigation. The ACT branch of the Australian Education Union backed that assessment, arguing Ms Burch's initial response had been "unrealistic" given the "very challenging and complex" nature of the revelations.
On June 28, having apparently absorbed the need for circumspection, Ms Burch indicated all interviews into the matter had been completed, that the report was being finalised by senior bureaucrat Gary Rake, and that it was "close" to being released.
The suggestion then of "imminent completion" sits oddly, however, with Ms Burch's comments on Thursday that she had "sought and been given regular updates about the progress of the investigation, but … not been provided with details of the findings".
Of greater concern, however, are what look like attempts to hose down public expectations of a full and transparent account of what took place in March and the events leading up to it. From the outset, Ms Burch repeatedly stressed the possibility and likelihood that privacy considerations will prevent a full and complete disclosure of facts. The AEU's comments, and the apparent tardiness of the Education Directorate with respect to the inquiry, appear to echo a similar sentiment.
In certain quarters, the directorate and the AEU's position might be described as self-serving and therefore unsurprising. It's harder to find anything excusing Ms Burch's behaviour. Had she been true to her commitment in April, she could have used her authority to demand a completed inquiry well before now. Instead, she and her government have used "privacy concerns" as a fig leaf for inaction, all the while blocking opposition freedom-of-information requests. And Ms Burch will fool no one with her resort, at this late state, to blaming the directorate.
According to the ACT Council of Parents and Citizens Association vice-president, Hugh Boulter, the whole school community knows the primary school in question. Given the directorate's tardiness in getting to the bottom of matters and the tendency of hearsay to fill an information vacuum, this is hardly surprising. The parents deserve better than this unsatisfactory affair engineered by a minister whose lack of judgment and probity continues to cause her difficulties.
