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Tasmania’s Catholic Church has ruled out selling properties to contribute to the national redress scheme for survivors of child sex abuse. It comes after the Anglican Diocese of Tasmania announced on Sunday that it would be selling more than 120 of its properties – nearly half its total property – to contribute $8 million to the redress scheme. The Commonwealth redress scheme for survivors of institutional child sexual abuse is designed to offer financial compensation to survivors, likely to be capped at $150,000 per claim. The state government is facing mounting pressure to sign on to the national scheme, which was recommended by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. Victoria and New South Wales now count themselves as signatories to the scheme. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has called on non-government institutions, namely churches, to sign on to the scheme as well. If Tasmania opts not to join the scheme, an institution like the state’s Anglican Diocese would not be able to take part in it either. In a statement, the Archdiocese stressed that the Catholic Church in Tasmania would not go down the same path as the Anglican Diocese by selling churches. The Catholic Church typically only sells properties when they become difficult to preserve. “The tradition of the church has always been one of reluctance to sell churches because they are consecrated buildings of spiritual importance,” the statement read. “The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hobart is making provision for any potential demand on it for compensation arising from the proposed redress scheme.” Catholic Archbishop of Hobart Julian Porteous has, along with Anglican Bishop Richard Condie, called on the state government to sign on to the redress scheme as soon as possible. Meanwhile, the Sexual Assault Support Service commended the Anglican Diocese for its proposal to sell its properties, and took the opportunity to urge the state government to join the national scheme. ​“This is a critical issue for survivors,” SASS chief executive Jill Maxwell said on Monday. “Having our government support the scheme will show survivors that society recognises the wrongs that have been done to them and the impact that the abuse has had, and continues to have, on their lives.” The state government has previously paid compensation to child sex abuse survivors through a $54 million state scheme established by the former Labor government. Attorney-General Elise Archer has said she is “actively considering” the prospect of Tasmania singing up to the national redress scheme.

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