industry & reform
Photo : Patrick Gee
In parliament estimates the other week in Tasmania , I actually heard that being argued : that different people made reports and it was centred around this person . People were really troubled . So that was the context with which he took this young girl with him overseas without his own children , without his family . He was married twice , I think , at that point , he may have separated from his second wife , I ’ m not sure .
But I do know that there were a lot of people in the ward , certainly other nurses that were saying : “ You can ’ t do that , that ’ s inappropriate .” And it was framed in a way that it was this culturally enriching experience , looking back at ANZAC history . One of the first things I found when I Googled his name originally was an article that said , ‘ Gallipoli calling war hero ’ s son ’, and he had this big article with a photo of him looking at images of his dad who had been in line for a VC apparently , before he died .
And that was really important to Jim , this war history , and he absolutely used that to ingratiate himself and impress this girl . So it ’ s only in hindsight that you see how sinister it was . But even then , again , I get it . I can kind of see how that would be an attractive thing . So , you offer a young person a trip overseas to Turkey , that ’ s a big deal and that ’ s often beyond the means of many families .
There ’ s some pretty awkward moments in the podcast of stories where colleagues feel like they ’ ve just interrupted him in the middle of something , but without being able to quite catch him . Without being too harsh on the nurses and the health professionals , it seemed like they didn ’ t really push the issue , or is that wrong ? You ’ re not wrong , because on the face of it , and certainly in my reporting , you can tell the tone of it changes in the series because you don ’ t know who knew what and when until you speak with more of these colleagues .
From the outset , I was really concerned at the idea that so many of these people turned a blind eye . What later transpired , of course , was that they were complaining . They were raising issues but the complaint didn ’ t get resolved satisfactorily , to say the least . In some cases , their reports and complaints were shredded and allegedly were found in the wastepaper basket on Ward 4K in the early mid 2000 ’ s in one memorable incident .
Junior nurses came to me who were fresh out of uni and they were coming onto Ward 4K and they might have just seen a glimpse of him carry a patient from a shower . And when they told those stories to me , it ’ s with the wisdom of hindsight . It ’ s with that professional grounding that they now have , and they ’ re horrified . And I think we can ’ t underestimate the trauma that this story coming out has had on that ward . Unreservedly , the feedback is they ’ re glad it ’ s out , but in terms of finding out what Jim was , they are beside themselves , because nursing is a vocation and especially nursing kids , they love their jobs and the guilt is extreme .
Look , there ’ s a place for guilt , I get it . I ’ ve had so much feedback from nurses who were saying : “ I ’ m in paediatric care . No , this would never , never happen .” But something that I respond to them with is : “ You ’ ve got to understand the context and the context of this culture in this hospital is very , very particular to this region and this hospital .” And I am privy to some pretty extraordinary things going on behind the scenes and it becomes a lot easier to understand how people can essentially be ‘ gas lit ’ into being told things are okay .
It ’ s a really troubling , scary thing when you start to look at a lot of what people
“ When the culture becomes toxic you start to create environments where predators can thrive .
tried to raise in terms of Jim , and then [ there are factors like ] he was a union member that was suggested to me as being one of the reasons . It ’ s not to say anything about the union , they ’ d be horrified , but that was certainly [ coming ] from certain managers at the hospital . They ’ d get in the ear of the complainant and say things like , “ Do you really want to get the union involved ?” They ’ re so troubling because the outcome is hideous and it ’ s life-ruining for a generation of kids .
It ’ s complicated . And it ’ s a really worthwhile question to ask : who ’ s responsible and at what point were the responsibilities not upheld ?
At one point we find out that he abused a colleague ’ s daughter and he was eventually caught . What were the circumstances that led to police finally getting a hold of this man . He actually abused two colleagues ’ children , which is horrific . One of whom I spoke with , who is a delight and I ’ m so proud of her . So the circumstances of his being investigated was one very brave young woman , the child he brought to Gallipoli . She grew up and she was the catalyst for four other women to come forward . So she isn ’ t part of the podcast , but she ’ s a true hero – she ’ s the reason that any of this happened , including now an inquiry that will hopefully protect another generation of kids .
But yes , that complaint was really it . That was when the investigation could begin in earnest . And one of the troubling things is that he was on the ward for two-and-ahalf months after she raised that complaint in May 2019 . Police were investigating him , but he retained his position caring for kids for two-and-a-half months until he was eventually marched off the premises and lost his registration a week after that . And people are interrogating that , with the health minister , with the police minister . It ’ s been the subject of the estimates hearings in Tasmania . That ’ s a big deal and I ’ m not privy to what normally happens in hospitals or indeed in criminal investigations , but oh , is that scary .
Continued on p18
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