Kate Thwaites (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise this evening to acknowledge and pay tribute to the survivors of institutional child sexual abuse, and to pledge to do my part, as a member of this place, to ensure that their voices continue to be heard. They are the experts who must drive the still unfinished work that we need to do to build on the national apology.

The 2018 apology to the survivors of institutional child sexual abuse was a very important part of our nation's history, and it is important that we mark its anniversary. It was the moment when we ended some of the silence. It was the moment when we apologised for things that should not have to be spoken, because they should not happened. They should not have happened to the children whose trust was irretrievably broken and whose lives were scarred. They should not have been silenced.

A division having been called in the House of Representatives—

Sitting suspended from 16:51 to 17:02

The 2018 apology to the survivors of institutional child sexual abuse was a very important part of our nation's history, and it's important we mark its anniversary. It was the moment we ended some of the silence. It was the moment we apologised for things that should not have had to be spoken, because they just should not have happened. They should not have happened to the children whose trust was irretrievably broken and whose lives were scarred. Those children should not have been silenced, or they should not have not been believed. They are the ones who we should have been protecting. They are the ones who we should have wrapped our collective arms around—not the perpetrators, the people who were moved around, who were protected and who were allowed to keep acting with impunity.

Our Australian of the Year, Grace Tame, powerfully said earlier this year, 'Well, hear me now.' Ms Tame, I echo the words of the Labor leader and member for Grayndler when I say, 'We hear you and we thank you for your advocacy and for your courage,' just as I thank all those survivors and their supporters who fought for so long for this overdue apology, CLAN and all the other groups who supported and continue to support those who told their story—9,000 told their story to the royal commission—and those who could not bring themselves to tell their story and those who have never had the opportunity to tell their story.

I acknowledge the work of my predecessor as the member for Jagajaga, Jenny Macklin, who together with the then Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, and Attorney-General, Nicola Roxon, heard the calls from survivors and their supporters and made the decision to hold the royal commission that led to this apology. It was a critical point on the road to this apology. I also acknowledge the member for Barton and the member for Newcastle, who spoke before me and who have been champions for survivors in this place and for the work that still needs to be done. That's why it's important that we mark this anniversary, but it's also vital that we don't pretend that the work is done.

I am concerned by a lack of urgency in much of the Morrison government's response. The National Redress Scheme is still not operating as it should. Too many survivors are dying before they receive the payments they should. The maximum payment should be lifted from $150,000 to $200,000. The National Centre for the Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse is still nothing but an announcement and a contract, with no work starting on building the centre. Adequate counselling is still not in place—access to lifelong counselling—for those who need it and for whom it would make a massive difference in their life. This work is too important for a go-slow or for us not to be genuine in our efforts to get it done.

So I make the obvious point: the apology was not an ending. It was an important moment, but there is so much more to be done, and it will not be done through complacency in this place or outside of it. We failed so many children for far too long. We failed the survivors, we failed their families and we failed their communities. We must not fail anymore. Child sexual abuse is not just a historical problem. It occurs right now in our community. There is so much work still to do, and we must complete that work. It must be led by the evidence and, most importantly, it must be led by the survivors, whom we must continue to hear.

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