text: Court ejects head of Australian child-sex inquiry. CANBERRA 1996-12-06 
   The Australian opposition on Friday demanded a high-powered investigation into paedophilia in the Australian diplomatic service after the federal court forced the head of the existing inquiry to stand aside. The court said inquiry head Chris Hunt might be biased, since he privately told a newspaper he had turned up no major evidence of paedophile activity, even though he still had months' of investigation before him. " Today we are left with a ruinous wreck beyond salvage and a continuing pall of doubt and suspicion hanging over our diplomatic service, " opposition foreign affairs spokesman Laurie Brereton said. But the government responded by pressing ahead with the original inquiry, established in May, appointing a new head to lead it. Critics say that if there were many paedophiles in senior posts in the Foreign Affairs Department then a secret inquiry would be open to internal influence and would become a public service whitewash. Accordingly, they demand an open investigation. A spokesman for Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer said the appointment of a new inquiry head, administrative law expert Pamela O'Neil, showed the government's commitment to pursue the matter. A report is due in May next year. One Australian diplomat has been prosecuted this year for having sex with a Cambodian boy under 16 but was acquitted. Police have investigated others. A newspaper reported allegations in April that diplomats had directed Australian government aid to certain foreign orphanages to secure sex with children.
competitors: Australian CANBERRA Australian Australian Chris Hunt Laurie Brereton Foreign Affairs Department Foreign Affairs Alexander Downer Pamela O'Neil Australian Cambodian Australian