20 Jul 2013

Sir Owen urged to apologise

8:15 pm on 20 July 2013

A former member of the inquiry into child abuse promoted by Sir Owen Glenn says Sir Owen should apologise for not revealing an abuse allegation against him 11 years ago.

Inquiry director Ruth Herbert and several other inquiry members resigned after it became known that Sir Owen had been accused of physically abusing his personal assistant in Hawaii in 2002.

Sir Owen entered a plea of no contest, which meant everyone involved in the case agreed to some extent about what had happened, without his having to plead guilty.

Neville Robertson, who is one of those who resigned over the matter, says Sir Owen should apologise for "not letting people know that this was in the background, (that) it was something that might come up and could - as has happened - seriously compromise the integrity of the inquiry".

The chair of the inquiry, Bill Wilson, says Sir Owen has nothing to apologise for, and he wants him to continue to play an active role.