Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the Prime Minister for his fine words and, on behalf of the coalition, I associate ourselves with those words and the sentiment. I extend a very warm welcome to Bruce and Denise Morcombe today, and to other members of the Morcombe Foundation, and thank them for their tireless work over the last 20 years.

We can think of any parent's worst nightmare, as the Prime Minister rightly points out; the scenario was that Daniel went to purchase Christmas presents and it was eight years before they found out what had taken place. I spoke to Bruce and Denise yesterday about the angst that families feel in relation to a missing loved one. It's not just the horrible, egregious and shocking circumstances to understand what your own child may have gone through in that point of contact with some predator but it's the uncertainty of knowing where your son or daughter might be for all those years. With their tireless efforts and their media advocacy—the way in which they engaged the hearts and minds of not just Queenslanders but every Australian—as Daniel was searched for, and the way in which the Sunshine Coast community in particular really came behind a local family, everybody could feel, every parent could feel, the anguish they were going through.

From the way that they have dedicated themselves since then—going to schools, doing online talks, engaging with other NGOs—there are countless lives of young Australian children that they've saved. And that's something that we should acknowledge today. The true extent of their work, the true reach of their message, is the way in which they've changed lives which otherwise would have been changed irrevocably—that's something that we should celebrate today as well. We should remember always that child safety is the first charge of all of us in this place.

The work that the Morcombe Foundation does in a changing environment, as the Prime Minister pointed out before—the threats that are online, the predation that takes place, the grooming, the exchange of details, the innocent conversations, the messages that are swapped, the images that are shared—are all part of the conversation that the Morcombe Foundation is having in language that children can understand and relate to. The Morcombes now, wherever they go around Australia, are recognised identities. People stop them and talk to them, and so the continuing anguish, in that sense, that they feel but which they guard the community from, is something we all acknowledge today. But in their son's honour, they have not taken any time for rest. When you speak to them, it's quite astounding how they go from school to school and tell the story over and over and over again, and they do it because they honour the legacy of their son. And so, too, do their other two boys.

I want to say thank you very much to you, Mr Speaker, for hosting an afternoon tea in their honour this afternoon, and I thank all of those who provide significant financial support at the dances, at the fundraising events and the philanthropic giving otherwise. I want to thank the Prime Minister for the discussions we've had about the funding he's announced today. Of course, the coalition matches that commitment, and we do so with a great deal of pride and honour. We pay respect to two wonderful Australians, to their family and to their supporters who are here today.

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