I don't judge the parents at all for taking a generous fee, and I'm somewhat disappointed that they're attracting so much criticism for doing so.
Firstly, CS was not interviewed - just the parents.
Secondly, one thing that was very clear in the interview is that the family generally, and CS in particular, will be affected by this horrific event forever. Any sum of money that can ease the pressure in practical ways may be helpful. I would think of it more as compensation than winning the lottery, since it barely offsets what they've suffered.
Thirdly, people in positions like this one are under immense pressure to speak with the media. They've probably been fighting off constant requests for interviews for weeks. It does make sense to do one high-profile interview with a well-known media outlet, and if they're offered a fee, there's no good reason not to take it.
And finally, they revealed that they plan to buy a caravan, travel around Australia, and find a new place to settle down. That's quite a wholesome way to use some of the money, especially in an economic climate in which home ownership is out of reach for a lot of average people, and it's perfectly understandable that they'd want to leave Carnarvon and start a new life elsewhere.
The sad truth is that parents of killed or abducted children always, always come under a lot of criticism, no matter what they do. It happened to Lindy Chamberlain and we haven't learned a lesson from it. Everyone thinks crimes of this nature only happen to bad parents. Everyone thinks the parents handle it badly.
The parents of CS were criticised for not waking up when CS was abducted, and for having a tent with a partition. They were accused of being complicit in some unspeakable crime, were judged for using social media to try to find their daughter, and are now being judged for giving an interview and taking a fee for it. And of course there are still people saying "I don't like the look of that stepdad" or "I think the mum knew the alleged perpetrator." None of this is fair.
We don't know what they've been through, or what they're still going through. We don't know how much money they have or whether they can afford ongoing psychiatric support for CS. We don't know whether they would have been able to move out of Carnarvon without financial help, and we don't know how they might use the money to secure a bright future for a traumatised little girl. We don't know, and we don't need to know, because it's their call.
