CANBERRA, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has pledged to deliver a national apology to victims of institutional child sex abuse before the end of 2018.
In a surprise statement to parliament on Thursday morning, Turnbull said that "there is no more important obligation for every Australian adult than keeping our children safe from harm."
A Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse delivered its final report in December, making 409 recommendations for change to the system.
Commissioners heard from more than 8,000 survivors of abuse, 61 percent of whom were abused in an institution managed by the Catholic Church, throughout the five-year inquiry.
They recommended that celibacy become voluntary among priests and that religious ministers be forced to report any child sexual abuse revealed to them during religious confessional.
Turnbull on Thursday confirmed that a national redress scheme which will see survivors financially compensated by the organisation responsible for their abuse will come into effect on July 1.
"Reading some of the witness statements, it is clear that being heard and being believed means so much to the survivors," he said.
"So much. Much more than many of us would imagine. Three words I believe you' coming after years, decades, of authorities' denial of responsibility.
"They relived the worst moments of their lives, often telling their stories for the first time, so these terrible abuses would never be allowed to happen again."
Following Turnbull's statement, Australian Labor Party (ALP) leader Bill Shorten praised Julia Gillard, the ALP PM who set the Royal Commission in motion.
"I want to pay tribute to Julia Gillard for her leadership in establishing this royal commission I actually think that with every passing day, that decision enhances her legacy," he said.
"(The Royal Commission) has shown, without doubt or exception, the extraordinary courage of all the survivors who stepped forward to tell their story. The brave souls who reached back into the darkness of their memories and brought their suffering to light.
"I also think they did it for all of the other kids who didn't make it."
