In truth, it’s been a mess from the get-go: William was a foster child, and the NSW Department of Family and Community Services put secrecy first.
On the day of his disappearance, it refused to let the foster parents be identified.
It also refused to let his biological parent be identified.
And so the initial reports coming out of Kendall were extremely confusing: a child was missing, but where’s mum and dad?
There were no parents, no grandparents, nobody was on TV pleading for his return.
Into that distressing scenario — into the abhorred vacuum — came rumours, innuendo, speculation about paedophile rings and dodgy neighbours and family members, much of it devastating to those who dearly loved William.
And yet for three years, the secrecy held. Finally, NSW Supreme Court Justice Paul Brereton stepped up and took responsibility.
The fact that William was a foster child was a matter of profound importance, he said.
Of course, the public had a right to know.
Nocookies