Christopher Rafferty was a man of good character, without any other similar allegations against him, the court heard.

He had a distinguished teaching career and the court heard from one witness he was “a man of the highest standard of integrity”.

The Judge ruled on the basis of evidence but – notably – he did not let the Christian Brothers or Rafferty off scot-free.

The Order stands condemned for not investigating the complainant’s allegation from the get-go. Vital time and recollection of both parties was lost.

Further, in a hallmark of the bad old days, the Brothers dissuaded the alleged victim from going to police on three occasions. More concerning, its 2012 investigation by a contracted former policewoman was done in-house.

Thankfully, times are changing and the Order is actively reaching out to complainants of historical sexual abuse. Right now it is also paying out thousands of dollars in compensation. While the court has acquitted Rafferty on the balance of evidence, many questions remain. It is right and proper these issues are aired and addressed.

ON the one hand we are told in a statement from NSW Corrective Services that jobs will be affected as a result of “a process of benchmarking” in prisons across the state, including Goulburn’s jail.

On the other we are told that no jobs will be lost; rather, that Corrective Services is recruiting for about 1000 jobs across NSW. 

So how do you cut costs, yet recruit more positions? Somewhere in between lies the truth, we suspect. 

Any time a government department talks about ‘benchmarking’, ‘performance management’ and ‘market testing’, those who have been around know this is code for “watch out – jobs may be on the line”.

Cr Sam Rowland quite rightly highlights this issue for the community, noting the jail is one of the largest employers in town and as such should be “on the radar” for all councillors when such cost-cutting measures are raised. 

As one of the country’s highest security prisons, there is also a major obligation to protect the community here.