After two weeks of sustained pressure, the two Tasmanian ministers at the centre of a furore over accusations they groaned during a question asked on behalf of a child sexual abuse victim-survivor have apologised.
A fortnight ago, a number of government MPs groaned in the background as Labor leader Rebecca White asked a question while quoting Tiffany Skeggs, a victim-survivor of paedophile nurse James Geoffrey Griffin.
Premier Peter Gutwein issued an apology on behalf of the government later that day, and Education Minister Roger Jaensch personally apologised shortly after.
But State Parliament has been dominated by the issue this week, with mounting pressure on Attorney-General Elise Archer and Infrastructure Minister Michael Ferguson to issue personal apologies for their conduct.
Ms Skeggs has said she was "devastated" by the groaning, which left her feeling "disrespected and minimised and gaslit", and has called for both ministers to resign.
Following multiple questions from Opposition Leader Rebecca White on Thursday morning, and after the issue dominated this week's sittings, Ms Archer said she was sorry.
Ms White then asked a similar question of Mr Ferguson, who followed suit.
"I'm sorry for the impact of government members' and my reaction on the day, the Premier has already apologised, I associate myself with that and repeat it," he said.
It was a shift from both ministers, who had previously deferred to the initial apology issued by the Premier on behalf of the government as being adequate.
'Now time to move onto the next step,' abuse survivor says
After the apology, Ms Skeggs said it was time to move on.
"I appreciate Mr Ferguson and Ms Archer finally incorporating an apology into their statements. It is the first of many steps to be taken in remedying this situation," she said.
"It's now time to move onto the next step and focus on all survivors being heard and supported.
"The CoI public hearings are around the corner and will be profound."
A Commission of Inquiry into the Tasmanian Government's Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in Institutional Settings is examining many allegations of abuse in state settings, including by Griffin, who was a paediatric nurse at Launceston General Hospital for 19 years.
He was charged in 2019 with child sexual abuse offences and took his own life.
The commission held its opening hearing on October 26 last year.
Hearings will resume in May in Hobart and Launceston.
'Petulant, disrespectful' behaviour, Greens say
Earlier on Thursday, Opposition leader Rebecca White moved to censure the two ministers, but the government used its numbers on the floor of the House of Assembly to defeat it.
Ms White argued that the two ministers had failed to meet the standards expected of their offices.
"I cannot for the life of me understand why it's taken another day, it's now been two weeks, in which they've been allowed to get away with this behaviour," Ms White said.
Greens leader Cassy O'Connor said the two ministers had behaved like "petulant, disrespectful children."
"This is no trivial matter," she said.
"There is a woman who was betrayed by the state who is sitting in her home right now feeling broken and betrayed again."
Independent MP Kristie Johnston said the failure of the two ministers to apologise cast a shadow over all politicians in the chamber, and the issue had gone on too long.
