Anglican Church negotiates in good faith

The Anglican Church of Tasmania continues to negotiate in good faith with local communities about church property marked for sale.

The Right Revd Dr Richard Condie, Bishop of Tasmania said, “We recognise that church buildings, such as St Martin’s Church at Dunalley, are important places and hold significant value within the local community”.

“In 2018, when we proposed to sell this church building, we invited the community to submit a proposal for its future. Any submissions received were to be balanced against our financial obligations under the National Redress Scheme. Our hope being that both the aspirations of the community and our financial obligations could be met.”

“Through the public consultation process we received input from members of the community with respect to the former St Martin’s Anglican Church, Dunalley. One submission was from a local community group called the Dunalley Heritage Fellowship.”

Bishop Condie said, “We made the decision to negotiate in good faith with the Dunalley Heritage Fellowship, prior to exploring other sale options for the Church building. Unfortunately, the community group have been unable to make a satisfactory offer for the property”.

“While we would like to see this building purchased by a community group, we must ensure that enough funds are realised to meet our redress obligations and help fund future ministry in the Parish.”

“Our Church is committed to the National Redress Scheme and acknowledges how important it is for people who experienced institutional child sexual abuse. Redress provides a measure of restorative justice, recognition and support.

“We encourage those people who suffered abuse in the Anglican Church in the past to come forward to us or the National Redress Scheme,” said Bishop Condie.

The Anglican Church of Tasmania has instituted many changes over the last eighteen years in order to protect children and prevent abuse. The safety of children and vulnerable people in our church communities is paramount. The church has been working hard to screen, educate and develop church leaders and volunteers who are working with vulnerable people. We have improved our response to and support for survivors of sexual abuse. We have no tolerance for abuse of any kind. To report abuse call 1800 017 286.

Published: 6 September 2019