Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I, too, want to put on record my profound sadness at the vicious, senseless murder of Hannah Clarke and her three children by their father. Let's be absolutely clear, there is no excuse for this behaviour. This is a man who poured petrol over his wife and his three children and set them alight. This was a brutal act of murder perpetrated by a cowardly criminal, and anyone who says otherwise is part of the problem. It doesn't seem to matter how often these appalling murders face us, how horrified we are or how genuine the outpouring of grief and fury is; they still keep happening. They are a devastating reminder of just how dangerous the post-separation world is for victims and survivors of domestic violence.

And that's why bestowing an Order of Australia on Bettina Grant is egregious. Without wanting to give this matter any further oxygen, she is toxic and divisive, and I cannot let this lie. This is a woman who defends paedophiles and forgives sexual assault against children; the woman who has referred to 'the myth' of domestic violence; and, more recently, the woman who publicly defended the man who murdered Hannah Clarke and her children. It is outrageous, and it is time for this honour to be revoked. In 2019, 61 women died violently. This year, already, nine women have been killed in shocking acts of violence. It's time this government led.

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