Tim Wilson (Goldstein, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is a great pleasure to rise to support the spirit of this motion—namely: that we must stop child and forced marriage, as forms of slavery. This is a deeply important issue, and one of the greatest human rights achievements of those in the classical liberal tradition has been to end slavery. William Wilberforce led the campaign to end slavery until the passage of the Slave Trade Act of 1807. The great Republican President Abraham Lincoln did the same in the United States, at the risk of the very union of the republic.

And every time that slavery has been stopped it is because good people have worked together, with sound mind, to stand up for the type of country that they wanted theirs to be. What they did not do was to use it as a platform for boasting of partisan achievements. Ending slavery is not an issue of partisan politics. It is a basic issue of humanity.

As a liberal, I come to this issue with a clear and resolute commitment that all people are born free and equal. Liberals believe in a society based on consent and that no-one should be forced to act against their will. Every person should feel safe and secure to live a life without intimidation and coercion. That is a denial of their life and liberty. All people should be free to marry, but I cannot tolerate forced marriages. All people, particularly women and minors, must be free to live their own lives. They should not be deceived or be unable to consent to have their future decided for them. The crime of forced marriage rightly covers all forms of marriage, including those that are legal or borne from cultural or religious traditions and ceremonies.

The rise in investigations of forced marriages in this country is deeply disturbing. The aim should be to have no forced marriages in Australia. However, with the AFP and Red Cross concluding that the rise in investigations from three to 69 in only a few short years is far more likely as a result of rising community awareness and people seeking legal avenues—and, from that, we should take a degree of comfort. A first step in addressing a problem is acknowledging that there is a problem, and that is what we are doing today and will continue to do. Forced marriage exists and we must stomp it out.

With more people seeking investigations, my hope is that, through visibility of the issue, we are addressing it and not ignoring it. As was mentioned by one of the previous speakers, according to Human Rights Watch, there are 14 million girls globally who are forcefully married each year—tragically, with some under the ages of eight and 10. My hope also is that some people who may face a forced marriage are using the investigations process to aid them in dealing and tackling an environment where they face pressure or intimidation, including when they may go overseas to be forcefully married. There cannot be a cultural or religious justification for such a barbaric act as forced marriage. I was disturbed to read reports last year that some foreign clerics have come to Australia to deliberately illegally marry off under-age girls.

Such practices are completely inconsistent with who we are as a nation. Tackling this issue speaks to our national character. Are we going to be culturally relativist and say we tolerate this sort of practice because all cultures are equal? Or are we going to stand up for our way of life? That is why I am proud to be a cultural conservative, because I believe in this country and its values. I have no hesitation in saying that all people must be treated equally by the law but, equally, they must enjoy the protection of the law. That is why I am proud to support the spirit of this motion—though absent the partisan politics that has been injected by some. The victims of forced marriages deserve better than that conduct. I hope today that, by raising this issue, giving it visibility and focusing on it, we may encourage people to come forward if they are aware of circumstances where there are forced marriages, to prompt them to be investigated, and to make sure that people seek the assistance they need if they find themselves in positions of vulnerability.

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