A "devastated" victim-survivor of child sex abuse says two Tasmanian government ministers who groaned at a question asked on her behalf in parliament should resign, after they repeatedly refused to apologise.
A number of government MPs could be heard groaning in the background as Opposition Leader Rebecca White asked a question while quoting Tiffany Skeggs, a victim-survivor of paedophile nurse James Geoffrey Griffin, two weeks ago.
Ms Skeggs said the groans, and the repeated refusals of the ministers accused of doing so — Infrastructure Minister Michael Ferguson and Attorney-General Elise Archer — to apologise, made her feel "disrespected and minimised and gaslit".
She called on the ministers to resign for a combination of the groaning, their subsequent lack of apology and their "political history".
"We are reliant particularly on the Attorney-General to implement significant reform and recommendations that will be handed down from the Commission of Inquiry and I cannot for the life of me fathom or begin to understand how [the government] can expect us to have any confidence in this Attorney-General," she said.
Ms Skeggs said the groaning made her feel "physically sick".
"I burst into tears and was absolutely beside myself. I felt extremely invalidated and disrespected and felt completely worthless in that moment," she said.
Children and Youth Minister Roger Jaensch apologised for his personal behaviour at the time, while Premier Peter Gutwein has apologised on behalf of the government, but says further apologies are not necessary.
"The apology has been provided by me on behalf of my ministers, on behalf of the entire government and it has been provided sincerely, it was provided without explanation or excuse because I understand very deeply these matters," he said.
Mr Gutwein, who recently revealed he was also a victim-survivor of child sexual abuse, said Ms Skeggs's comments that he lacked empathy or warmth for fellow victim-survivors "cut him to the quick".
"And I know as we work our way through this, my government will bear the brunt of claims from victims over the next 12 months as we sort out this Commission of Inquiry, but I am prepared to go through that because I believe that we need to get to the bottom of this."
The 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.
Mr Gutwein said he did not agree with Ms Skeggs's push for the ministers to resign, accusing Ms White of using Ms Skeggs as a "political weapon."
Ms Skeggs said she "resented that assertion deeply."
"If [Mr Gutwein] and his government have any respect for my health and wellbeing, inclusive of my mental health, they will not continue to minimise and disrespect me in such ways."
Ms Skeggs said she would meet the Premier in coming weeks and still expected the ministers to apologise, despite believing it was no longer "anywhere near enough, or adequate or appropriate".
"The amount of debate and requests that we've had to make in an attempt to get this apology is absolutely unfathomable and I certainly think further steps need to be taken to address this issue," she said.
