Jenny Macklin (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Families and Payments) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Right now, the media is dominated by the royal commission into child sexual abuse. The horrific abuse of children has shocked and saddened all of us. The cruelty, negligence and indifference of those who were meant to care for them has angered us. On behalf of the Labor Party, I pay tribute to the remarkable survivors, for their bravery in coming forward to tell their stories; for their resilience, living through decades of pain and trauma; and for their resolve as they walk this long road to justice.

The royal commission has recommended a single, national scheme be established to provide overdue redress to survivors of abuse. Labor will implement a national redress scheme. The government has not yet committed to a single, national redress scheme. This is just not good enough. Survivors have been waiting their whole lives to get redress for the crimes perpetrated against them. I ask the Prime Minister, as a patron of the Care Leavers Network, please make this commitment. We have all been affected by these stories of tragedy and survival, but our kind words are not enough. Without action, our words are hollow. Survivors want justice. Survivors want redress. It is the very least we can do.