Katie Allen (Higgins, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to support this motion in this House to commemorate the first anniversary of the National Apology to Victims and Survivors of Institutional Child Sex Abuse. To the survivors: I am sorry this happened to you and I am sorry that you weren't heard. In your homes, in the streets, in your communities, in your schools and in your churches there were people you tried to tell. You tried to reach out to those who should have listened and protected you. I'm sorry that often you weren't believed, that society didn't trust the word of you as a child.

On 22 October last year, the Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, delivered the National Apology to Victims and Survivors of Institutional Child Sexual Abuse. The Prime Minister referred to the abusers as:

… enemies that all too often cloak their evil in roles where they should be trusted more than any: teachers, priests, pastors, coaches, counsellors.

just to name a few.

A staggering number, 60,000 people, are estimated to have experienced sexual abuse as children in Australian institutions. Tragically, there was failure at every level of Australian society. Those who told their stories should know that they have had a profound effect on attitudes to child abuse in this country and on holding the nation to account.

While preparing to speak on this motion, I went to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse website. Right there on the screen were dozens of people's stories—heartbreaking, saddening stories of young and sometimes vulnerable children who fell prey to these enemies. There was page after page of these brave and now grown men and women who willingly shared their stories so that we as a government and we as a society could better understand the crimes of the past, learn from these mistakes and work out how to protect children of the future.

There was a story of Whitney, who is visually impaired, who was told to strip bare while a doctor, a photographer and another man took photographs of her. She was uncomfortable at the time, but she and her mother trusted the doctor. There are so many good doctors in the world, and it really saddens me, as a doctor myself, that this happened. She told the commission:

… that was also symptomatic of that day and age where people thought doctors were like God, you know, they just trusted them totally.

Then there is the story of Duncan, whose abuse was so traumatic that he blocked it out until a car accident many years later triggered flashbacks to his time with the Church of England Boys Society and the ongoing sexual abuse he experienced. Duncan suspects that there were adults who knew about the abuse. He said: 'They probably didn't know the way to go about it, where to bring it up. I mean, you can't go much higher than the bloke who's actually running the show.' And there is Virginia, who, after experiencing sexual and physical abuse right into her adult life, was subjected to adjournment after adjournment during the court case to bring her abusers to justice. When she finally took to the stand, where he abuser was allowed to sit directly in front of her, 'His lawyer ripped me to shreds on the stand,' she said.

These stories are a tragedy of injustice. And I have a personal story. A dear friend of mine once confided in me about the abuse he suffered while at boarding school in England. It wasn't until many decades later, during a school reunion, that he realised how systemic the abuse was. The tragedy for my friend—and it's true for all these stories—was that, while the physical torment is one thing, the big issue is that it goes to the heart of what every child deserves, and that is a trusting and respectful relationship with those who were supposed to look after them. These are stories of broken trust. And once trust is broken it sometimes can never be repaired, and that is the pain and suffering that these people carry with them for the rest of their life. It's a tragedy that should never happen. As a mother, a paediatrician and now a member of parliament in this place, I find it tragic that there was nowhere for these people to go.

An apology is empty without action, and I'm proud that by implementing the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse we are righting the wrongs of the past. We as a parliament and as a society are taking steps to right the wrongs of the past. There were 409 recommendations from the royal commission; 84 of those recommendations have been addressed through the National Redress Scheme. This scheme was designed to assist those who experienced institutional child sexual abuse. The National Redress Scheme will run for 10 years and work closely with those affected to provide counselling and psychological services; a redress payment, if necessary; and/or a direct personal response, such as an apology from the responsible institution. This scheme can never reverse the devastating acts that have been committed against children or lessen the pain of past wrongdoings, but this scheme will seek to provide support and acknowledge survivors.

A division having been called in the House of Representatives—

Proceedings suspended from 12 : 23 to 12 : 33

Fifty-six institutions have joined the scheme to date, including the Commonwealth government, state and territory governments and 47 non-government institutions. The non-government institutions include institutions run by the Catholic Church, Catholic religious orders, Anglican church institutions, Baptist churches, the Uniting Church, the YMCA, the Salvation Army and state and territory members of Scouts Australia. As a result there are more than 40,000 government and non-government entities covered by the National Redress Scheme. More than 600 payments have been made, totalling more than $50 million, with an average redress payment of $80,000.

The Morrison government hasn't just 'set and forget' when it comes to the National Redress Scheme. We are continuing to improve on the scheme, identifying areas we can do better in and continue to invest in. One year on, we have invested a further $11.7 million in the scheme to improve operations, better manage applications and reduce the number of times a person who is a survivor has to retell their story. It is so devastating for people when they have to tell it over and over again. We are supporting those who most need it by increasing services to remote and regional areas, providing support to male survivors, survivors with a disability and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander survivors. And we are ensuring this will never happen again, because, as we all know, prevention is always better than cure. We are working to introduce a National Strategy to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse. The strategy will include education and awareness-raising for all sections of society so that we know that we are looking for, so that tragedies can't and won't happen again. We are improving information-sharing, data and research. We are tightening the loopholes on working with children checks and ensuring states speak to one another, bringing all criteria requirements in line and standardising them nationally.

We've entered a new world of technology and, with it, come new threats, threats that can be harder to see, and governments must respond to that. We must safeguard our children from becoming targets of online child sex abuse. The Morrison government is finalising the Online Safety Charter. This charter sets out expectations for individuals, social media networks, content hosts and other tech companies. It sends a clear message that our children are protected and we are not content for a faceless user on the other side of a computer screen to threaten our children's safety. It sends a message that those businesses must protect our children and follow strict processes just like businesses in the physical world.

There is a lot to do in the next 10 years of the National Redress Scheme, but we can't afford not to do it. It's not going to be easy, most of all for those survivors who participate in the scheme. One year on, there are still institutions who will not join the National Redress Scheme. By not joining the scheme, these institutions are increasing pain. By not joining, they are doubling down on the hurt. By thinking you are protecting yourselves, you are only exposing the victims to more pain and hurt than they've already experienced. So, in closing, I urge those institutions to join. Join us in righting the wrongs of the past. It is the right thing and the honourable thing to do.

Debate adjourned.