Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I have received a letter from the honourable the Leader of the Opposition proposing that a definite matter of public importance be submitted to the House for discussion, namely:

The Government's refusal to conduct a Royal Commission into child sexual abuse in Indigenous communities.

I call upon those honourable members who approve of the proposed discussion to rise in their places.

More than the number of members required by the standing orders having risen in their places—

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

The coalition is absolutely determined to do all we can to provide practical assistance to Indigenous Australians. We didn't believe that the Prime Minister was capable of convincing the Australian people that the Voice, another layer of bureaucracy here in Canberra and something potentially akin to ATSIC, was going to be the solution for Indigenous communities in their effort to try and improve services and reduce violence as we go forward. That was the conclusion, of course, drawn by the vast majority of Australians last Saturday. The Australian public couldn't have spoken with a clearer message to this Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister had refused point blank to provide the detail to the Australian public that they so craved. The Australian public at the start of the Voice debate instinctively expressed a view that they wanted to help Indigenous Australians. That was their view, and it was demonstrated through the polling. When we saw the polling initially, it was in the order of 65 per cent or 70 per cent. The numbers fell dramatically because the Prime Minister couldn't give the detail, the design or assurances around whether or not this would improve the lives of Indigenous Australians. The Prime Minister has divided our country, and the Prime Minister has wasted $450 million. He lifted up the hopes of young Indigenous people who thought that this was going to be a 1967 unifying moment for our country, and he's dashed the hopes of literally millions of Australians who have watched this government, over the course of the last 17 or 18 months, become completely and utterly consumed and obsessed by this issue to the expense of their own household budget and the cost-of-living pressures that families are facing.

That's what this Prime Minister has presided over in the first part of his term. He said this week, of course, that he's now back on to the cost of living, and he's trying to look at decisions that they can try to take and help families. Well, Prime Minister, the Australian public has been desperate for your attention and support since the day you were elected, and you have done nothing to provide support to them.

We know that under this government, interest rates have gone up. We know that under this government energy prices continue to go through the roof. We know that people are getting less for every dollar that they spend at the supermarket. Inflation is not under control, and there's every risk that the Reserve Bank could again increase interest rates at a time when families can least afford it.

What we have taken from the referendum result on the weekend is that the Australian public doesn't want the Voice, that they roundly reject it, that they roundly reject the other components that would go on, in some estimates, in terms of the treaty, for 20 to 30 years at a cost of literally billions of dollars and no practical outcome. They're not interested in that agenda. The Australian public is interested in providing tangible support to young Indigenous kids—to get them to school, to provide support for them to help them into a job, to give them a roof and a respectful life in a community no different to what we would expect in a capital city here like in Canberra or Brisbane or Sydney or Perth or wherever it might be.

The Prime Minister has now rejected on multiple occasions the offer of bipartisanship to establish a royal commission to get to the root of the problem in relation to Indigenous communities where children are being sexually abused. It reflects so poorly on this Prime Minister that Australians are shaking their heads, not recognising the bloke that they see as their Prime Minister today as the person they voted for in May of last year. There can be no higher priority for this government, for this parliament, for our nation, than protecting young, vulnerable children. Yet we know that in Indigenous communities this issue is endemic.

We know that sexually transmitted diseases amongst young children in Indigenous communities is much higher than what it is in other parts of the country. If we saw the same level of sexual abuse or domestic violence in a city like Hobart or in Melbourne, in Victoria, the front pages of the paper would be calling on the premier to resign. There would be understandable outrage from residents. If people saw these multiple instances of sexual abuse against children and a government doing nothing about it, they wouldn't stand for it. But because it's not seen on a daily basis because the TV cameras can't easily access some of these communities and because people are prohibited from going into some parts of the country—and there are reasons for that. I acknowledge the connection to country and the important elements of Indigenous culture. But the first issue that is paramount in Indigenous culture, as it is in every other culture that we respect, is to take care of those who are most vulnerable.

Because the cameras can't get in there, these images aren't on the front pages of the paper, and somehow there's a normalisation of this sexual abuse. As Minister for Home Affairs, I established the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation. With some tens of millions of dollars, they've been able to save hundreds and hundreds of children from the hands of perpetrators. I'm proud of that, and our country should be proud of the fact that we have law enforcement agencies that work day and night to protect our children and to stop perpetrators here and abroad. They stop offenders here who are, in the modern age, directing sexual acts against children taking place in the Philippines or in other parts of South-East Asia. Yet somehow in our country the Prime Minister can be here today and again vote against our initiative to try and provide practical support to those communities on the highest possible priority.

I don't understand the Prime Minister's lack of interest or lack of prioritisation of this issue. We have talked about this issue for some time. We called for a royal commission to examine child sexual abuse in Indigenous communities on 27 October 2022, almost 12 months to the day. We called again on the Prime Minister during 2023 in my budget-in-reply speech where I said:

I use this opportunity tonight to again call on the Prime Minister to hold a royal commission into child sexual abuse in Indigenous communities.

And I reaffirm our commitment to re-instating the Cashless Debit Card in communities who seek to have it, so that welfare payments can be spent on food for kids—not alcohol and drugs.

Its removal by this Government has led to increasing violence, particularly domestic violence.

If this Prime Minister has such a tin ear as to not listen to the Australian public in the message that was sent last weekend, I'll tell the chamber this fact: the Australian public will express a second view, if it's required, at the time of the next election. They will express a very clear view if the Prime Minister doesn't pick up the pretty strong hint that he got last Saturday. The hint last Saturday was to roll your sleeves up, start working together and get on with improving the lives of Indigenous people in regional and remote areas. We are committed to that task. We are absolutely committed to that task.

I have extended the hand of friendship to the Prime Minister in this most important regard on multiple occasions—he's not budging. He has not listened to anything the Australian public has had to say over the course of this year in terms of the debate on the Voice. How could he not hear the message? How could he show disregard for this, the most important national priority? We are talking about young lives being destroyed. We're talking about young children, boys and girls, who are being sexually abused at rates that have no place in any society, let alone ours. It's unimaginable that one child would lose the innocence of their childhood to some animal, some perpetrator who would seek to act in that way towards a defenceless child—let alone in the numbers we're seeing in communities now. We shouldn't tolerate it. We should do everything that we can with the power in this parliament, with the resources available to the Commonwealth, to provide support to the Northern Territory government. Instead, we hear the same political correctness from the Northern Territory Chief Minister, who has completely demonstrated that she is out of her depth and that the ability of the Northern Territory Labor Party government to deal with this issue is something that is well and truly past them.

The Prime Minister, with the resources of the Commonwealth, needs to provide support to these communities. I see the member for Lingiari, who is a fine and decent person, shaking her head in relation to these matters. The member for Lingiari needs to join with us and break away from her leader, who is not providing leadership to the people of the Northern Territory or to the people of our country. This Prime Minister is weak when he needs to be strong. He is indecisive when he needs to make decisions in our national interest. He needs to make sure that the decisions he takes will defend and protect our country and stand up for our values instead of going weak at a time when his country needs him most. He has divided the country. The time is now to heal and to come together. This is the opportunity to do it.

Michelle Rowland (Greenway, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Communications) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This is a serious issue, and, frankly, it deserves better than what we just heard from the Leader of the Opposition. Because we know it's a serious issue, we're getting on with the job of delivering for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people right across the country. This means listening to communities, not presuming to speak for them. It means working with people, not imposing decisions on them. That's why our priorities are the priorities that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have spoken about: health, education, jobs and housing. We are listening to First Nations communities. We need practical, effective solutions—not inquiries and commissions.

Child sexual abuse is abhorrent. I know how important it is that our children grow up safe and healthy. We don't need another royal commission to tell us that concrete action is needed. Our focus is on the immediate issue of keeping children and women safe. This year we launched a dedicated Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander action plan to end family violence. This is a first for Australia. It is supported by $194 million in investment in front-line family safety services and early intervention activities, and developed in true partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders with lived experience. The government is focused on working in partnership with the Northern Territory government and community organisations on the ground to make a difference.

I note the member for Bass has accused the Leader of the Opposition of appearing to weaponise child sexual abuse for some perceived political advantage, and has crossed the floor to vote against her party. The Albanese government is committed to protecting children from sexual abuse in all settings and ensuring criminal justice responses adequately reflect the profound harm caused to victims, survivors and communities. This includes working with all Australian jurisdictions under the National Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Child Sexual Abuse 2021-2030 and to combat all forms of child sexual abuse in all settings. The Albanese government will host the Ministerial Forum on Child Safety on 24 November this year to progress national child safety reforms. All state and territory governments have been invited. The ministerial forum will explore nationally consistent child safety reforms to strengthen existing frameworks.

I also want to acknowledge the tireless efforts of law enforcement in Australia to disrupt and bring forward to prosecution shocking cases of long-term child sexual abuse. This includes Operation Tenterfield which led to the arrest of a childcare worker who worked in Queensland, New South Wales and overseas in relation to alleged child sexual abuse offences. These are shocking allegations which have caused significant concern in our community. Operation Tenterfield is a prime example of the dogged determination of the Australian Federal Police, the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation, the Queensland Police Service and NSW Police working over several years to identify the alleged offender. I thank all law enforcement officers involved in this difficult matter for their efforts.

Protecting children from child sexual abuse, including online exploitation, is a key priority for the government and the AFP. The Albanese government recognises that protection of our children is not something that we can achieve alone. Raising awareness and educating the community is central to protecting children from harm, and the National Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Child Sexual Abuse recognises this. It is critical that we continue to partner together to educate, prevent, respond and disrupt those who seek to harm our precious children. The safety and wellbeing of First Nations children is a high priority for this government.

The Australian government is leading a significant program of work to protect Australian children from child sexual abuse and related harms. This includes work in response to the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, implementing the National Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Child Sexual Abuse that I mentioned—which is in itself a key royal commission recommendation—and working with First Nations leaders, state and territory governments and the non-government sector to deliver Safe and Supported: the National Framework for Protecting Australia's Children. In addition to work under the national strategy, the Australian government provided $4.7 million over four years to the Northern Territory government to increase specialist therapeutic services for children and young people who have displayed harmful sexual behaviours. These efforts build on the foundation that is the National Agreement on Closing the Gap, which is the key framework supporting strong, healthy First Nations families and communities.

The government has been working hard to improve the outcomes for Indigenous Australians. We've been getting on with replacing the failed remote jobs program with one that is about real jobs and real wages. There are 40,000 participants in this program throughout remote Australia, 86 per cent of whom are Indigenous. Last November we commenced the Pathways trials that have already resulted in 1,300 participants transitioning to work directly through trial projects. These trials will inform the transformation of CDP into a program that reflects the goals of remote communities and provides the opportunity for people to find fulfilling work.

Every Australian should have access to clean water, yet there are communities in this country where the water supply is too polluted to use. We've been working to address this, and we're making real progress. We're also investing in basic services in homelands for the first time in many years. We're expanding justice reinvestment programs to keep people out of jail and keep communities safe. After a decade of neglect, we're making a record $250 million investment in Central Australia. The Albanese government has been working closely with the Northern Territory government and local communities on delivering the plan for A Better, Safer Future for Central Australia. Since January this year, property offences are down 40 per cent. One of the initiatives we have funded is the Lhere Artepe Traditional Owner Community Patrol in Alice Springs. Not only is it making the streets of Alice safe at night, it has created 40 jobs for traditional owners.

We've invested over $18 million in expanding the capacity of the Child and Youth Assessment and Treatment program. The Central Australian Aboriginal Congress has recruited additional staff and they're doubling the number of children being assessed for issues such as FASD, ADHD and autism.

We're also investing over $40 million into Central Australian schools to keep young people engaged in education and to set them up for a positive future. The government has made significant investments to help Indigenous Australians live longer and healthier lives. This includes almost a quarter of a billion dollars to improve outcomes for First Nations people with cancer by enhancing comprehensive and culturally safe care. And there's $264 million over three years for a new lung cancer screening program. We are also training up to 500 First Nations health workers to deliver culturally appropriate care to First Nations people.

There are no easy solutions and no quick fixes to the challenges facing Indigenous Australians. But, as a government, we're determined to tackle the difficult problems and work with communities to deliver effective and lasting solutions. Our focus is on practical action and partnership with communities on issues, including health, education, jobs and housing—not more inquiries.

I note that the coalition is for practical measures, but the last time they conducted an audit in spending they slashed and burned the lot. As we have said, repeatedly, our priorities are the priorities of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders themselves—the ones they have spoken about: health, education, jobs and housing. We need practical, effective solutions, not inquiries and commissions.

David Littleproud (Maranoa, National Party, Shadow Minister for Agriculture) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What have we got to lose? What do we have to lose, to shine a light on Australia's most vulnerable? It's those young children in Indigenous and remote communities who are far away from the spotlight on those who live in the towns that we are living in. What have we got to lose to shine a light and to understand the extent of the problem?

There have been mistakes on both sides of the House in the past in dealing with this, but there was courage and conviction from Julia Gillard when she was Prime Minister. She had the courage of her convictions in starting the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. That changed lives. She had the courage and conviction to stand in this parliament and, in a bipartisan way, we brought forward the changes to those people's lives—people who were neglected and who a light wasn't shone on. Why wouldn't we do that for those who are the furthest away?

We have looked at this through the lens of the Northern Territory—through the Little children are sacred report in 2007. It said:

The classic indicia of children likely to suffer neglect, abuse and/or sexual abuse are, unfortunately, particularly apparent in Aboriginal communities. Family dysfunctionality, as a catch-all phrase, reflects and encompasses problems of alcohol and drug abuse, poverty, housing shortages, unemployment and the like. All of these issues exist in many Aboriginal communities

Proudly, we elected 11 Indigenous Australians to this parliament at the last election. One of those has come with the lived experience of living in Central Australia, representing the communities where many of these abhorrent acts take place. But Senator Nampijinpa Price's lived experience is different to that of many others. That's because these abhorrent acts took place among her family members. Senator Price had the courage of her convictions to give those victims—not just her family members—a voice in this place. It's a voice to come forward and look for a better way from something that is so abhorrent.

When her own niece was a victim of this type of abuse in the past, then that's the lived experience that this place should listen to. That's the lived experience we should learn from, to understand the uniqueness of the nature of these communities—not just where Senator Nampijinpa Price comes from but from the vast communities across the Northern Territory and Western Australia where this abhorrent abuse takes place. Why wouldn't we give them that voice? Why wouldn't we understand the extent of the symptoms and causes, which we can try—as legislators—to take our responsibility for? It's our responsibility because of the privilege we've been given to sit in this place to change the lives of Australians, no matter their postcode. Why wouldn't we take that opportunity for the seriousness of the nature of what is before us?

Why wouldn't we take our duty to our fellow Australians seriously enough that we would reach across the aisle, particularly when on Saturday night we were all given a message. We were all given a message by the Australian people, whether they voted yes or no. It was to get on with the job of making sure that, where there is disadvantage, we fix it. There have been mistakes from both sides for generations. We've made inroads in many parts of this country. But where we haven't is in those isolated parts of this country where the transparency isn't as great. So why wouldn't we do something different—something practical that shines a light on an abhorrent act that none of us, in this chamber or the other, can support? Why wouldn't we do everything we can to ensure this never happens again?

Politics aside, this is an opportunity to take the message from the Australian people, cast through their ballots—the most powerful message they can send to this place—and, as legislators, to come together and do what's right. And this is what's right. This is the right thing to do. This is the opportunity that very few are given because they don't have the opportunity to stand in this place where I am and to make a difference. Don't let that opportunity pass us. There's too much at stake. There's too much that's been lost, but there's so much that could be gained.

Lisa Chesters (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Let's just be really honest about what matters of public importance are. They are an opportunity for people to try and make a political point. It's the end of the day. It's the end of the week. It's quite often a tool the opposition will use to try and make a political point. It isn't about serious policy. It isn't about talking with stakeholders. This time hasn't been used to really engage in matters.

If those opposite were really serious about this issue, more of them would have attended the Parliamentary Friends Group of Ending Violence Against Women and Children on Monday night. An event was held in this place. The member for Bass attended—the only one of their side that attended. At that event we heard from the people who are the front line. We heard from the workers, the clinicians, the people who are working in rape crisis centres; and the people who are working as cultural practitioners, including here in Canberra. They shared the statistics and their thoughts on how we go forward. It's alarming. Victims are getting younger. Regardless of their background, regardless of postcode, we do have a problem in this country on this issue.

But discussing it in this political way, as the last order of business on a Thursday, is not the way to go about it, if those opposite were genuine about tackling this issue. It was also in this forum that Paula, a cultural practitioner, said she didn't want a royal commission into this issue. She thought it could make things worse and make it harder for people to disclose. When they're working so hard to build relationships, cultural understanding and support and encouraging victims to come forward in the most difficult of circumstances, she said that this could have the exact opposite effect.

What she and all the other workers we met with on Monday night said was: 'We need funding. We need resourcing. We need the practical decisions and the support that the government is already undertaking.' They thanked us for the steps that we were taking and called for more. They recognised and acknowledged the National Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Child Sexual Abuse 2021-2030—the report that we are enacting. They recognised the extra resources that are going into the NT. They recognised the partnership and the collaborations and the early discussions that are going on between the federal government and state governments, who are the partners with us in delivering this. They recognised the bold strategy and plan and commitment of this government to end violence against women and children in a generation. That's what this side said. That's what our government said. That is what our Minister for Social Services said in a statement delivered to this place not in a politically charged MPI days after a national referendum on the Voice. No, it was at the appropriate time with the arm of government. That is what our side is doing.

I do want to take a moment to acknowledge the extraordinary workers that we have in this sector—the frontline workers, the law enforcement officers, the police, the nurses that respond to incidences—for the work that they do and the care that they have. I want to acknowledge the social workers and the support workers, who don't get paid a fortune to do what they do but do it for care and respect for their community and their dedication to what they do.

I also want to acknowledge all the people who might be listening or might find this debate triggering. I'm sorry for that. I'm sorry that this may be triggering, particularly for those of you who are in our First Nations communities and are already struggling this week. I see you and I hear you. I'm sorry that this place didn't take a moment to pause and reflect on where you might be this week before bringing on this political debate. This is a serious issue, and everybody in this place takes this issue seriously. I encourage all of those still to participate in this debate to think about the language that you use and the accusations that you throw around, because the people who are engaged in the day-to-day front line, who are helping people pick up the pieces and get the justice they deserve, do not stand with you on this one.

Melissa Price (Durack, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

If we can take any positives out of the referendum process, it would be that it has resulted in a greater level of attention and understanding of the gaps that exist between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. Most Australians, regardless of how they voted on Saturday, want to see those gaps closed and for the next generation of kids not to suffer from disadvantage.

I acknowledge the injustices of the past. Indigenous Australians have suffered terrible abuses at the hands of governments throughout our history. However, we must accept that, as a parliament, we cannot change the past or the actions of those in past decades or centuries. I believe it's common sense for us to go forward; we must seek to improve today's conditions and outcomes. To improve outcomes, we must tackle the issues that are responsible for today's disadvantage.

I can tell you, as the member who represents the second-largest population of Indigenous Australians, that, sadly, Indigenous children are at risk of child sexual abuse. This is an evil that has a lifelong effect on victims and leads to worse outcomes. This was demonstrated through the hundreds of powerful submissions from the victims to the recent Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. As a government and a parliament, we apologise for the lack of action that enabled this abuse to take place. Let's not fail our most vulnerable again. Victims will tell you that much better than an apology would have been governments taking action to prevent the abuse in the first place.

Child sexual abuse is not inherently about race. It occurs in all types of Australian families. My own experience has demonstrated that it has much to do with alcohol and drug abuse. Unfortunately, these factors are particularly rampant in regional and remote Indigenous communities. I think people in remote and rural Australia know exactly what I'm talking about. We understand that the issues of child sexual abuse in Indigenous communities are not being adequately combated.

I'm sad to say that such abuse has taken place and continues to take place across my own electorate of Durack. Just a few short years ago, it was reported that there were dozens of child victims in the small town of Roebourne. Now, Roebourne is not far from Karratha in the very wealthy Pilbara region. The then WA Labor Minister for Child Protection conceded that abuse had become normalised through an intergenerational cycle. It is just unthinkable that such high levels of child abuse could ever have been thought of as just being normal.

Those opposite argued passionately for a voice. A royal commission into child sexual abuse in Indigenous communities will give these kids just that. It would allow their stories to be told and enable solutions to be found. I believe it's high time to bring this issue into the light—not hidden like some dark worst-best-kept secret. How can we possibly expect to address disadvantage without confronting this head on? So many of the gaps exist because many Indigenous kids are not growing up in a safe and healthy environment. Again, it's just common sense that action on child sexual abuse would also address issues of suicide, youth justice and substance abuse later in life.

I think we'd all agree it's not normal for children to be abused. Neither is it normal for them to take their own lives or to stay out late at night because they are too afraid to go home, believing that it's safer on the streets. Sadly, and I know that I speak for others who have large Indigenous populations, we know that tonight there will be kids on the street because it's a much safer place to be. We need to use this moment right now. I appreciate that people on the other side are arguing that we need this time to reset and pause, but I think there is nothing like the present for us to focus on this issue, and it is my belief that a royal commission could be the catalyst for such change.

I remind those opposite that the first duty of any government is the protection of its people. This obligation is especially true in reference to our most vulnerable and innocent. The innocence of children must be protected. I urge the Prime Minister and the Labor Party to reconsider their decision to reject our calls for a royal commission. Please, let's make our kids a priority.

Meryl Swanson (Paterson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The irony of the urgency here this afternoon—all this from a group of people who not only governed for nigh on a decade but have a long track record of railing against royal commissions or being dragged kicking and screaming to support them and who are largely the standard-bearers for action against inquiry. So we find ourselves on the Thursday of the week after a referendum—the first one in 25 years—where the nation said no. The Prime Minister, who is a man of his word, took the question to the people, as he said he would. As he said in question time today, he took it in the frame that had been requested by our First Nations people. They said yes, in large effect, in their seats, and the rest of the country said no.

We accept that decision, and we know that there is nothing like getting on with the job. That's what we are doing. Normally they would be the calls from those opposite, but, somewhere between last Saturday and this Thursday, they have found within their hearts the thought of a royal commission. I do not want to cast upon them the word 'hypocrite', but I do find it most telling that, in less than a week, they have suddenly found the urgency to provide a voice through a royal commission and not call for action, as we have been doing since we have been in government.

I have sat on the redress committee and watched the process of redress being afforded to people from our last royal commission, which was that of child sexual abuse in institutions. We not only conducted that royal commission as a Labor fraternity but sought redress for those people, and we have been implementing that redress. So I would urge the opposition to not lecture this government nor previous Labor governments on conducting royal commissions or taking action or providing very real redress for people. We are the walking embodiment of doing just that.

I come from a region, and I also acknowledge the member for Newcastle, who sits in the chair—it was so interesting that the member for Maranoa, the Leader of the Nationals, used the terminology 'shine the light' because that was the very phrase that was used by the Newcastle Herald, who led the charge with journalist Joanne McCarthy to shine that very light on institutionalised sexual abuse of children. It was rife in our community of the Hunter, and it just goes to show that it is not just First Nations communities that need that investigation. It happens in every community, in every social setting and in every area of disadvantage and advantage. It is a terrible, terrible curse on humanity, and it is something that we all have to actively work on, not politicise at a time of incredible political convenience, when it is not being used as a tool for the betterment of people. Call me cynical, if you will, Deputy Speaker, but I feel that this is the ultimate of insults to our First Nations people. Not only have we said to them, 'No, you're not getting a voice,' when they voted for it in large numbers, 'but now we're going to in some rather bizarre and perverse way accuse your communities of the disproportionate sexual abuse of children when we know that every community has that.'

I'm not turning my back on the fact that there is an issue. We are working on actual and practical solutions for our First Nations people. We haven't given them a voice, but we will continue to work with them. We will continue to put real promises in place for these children in their lives, going forward, and that's what we need here. I do acknowledge that we have elected 11 First Nations people, and, let me tell you, the place is better for members like the member for Lingiari, who I count as a friend and a colleague—she is a bright light in this place—and the member for Barton—the courage, the patience and the grace that our First Nations people display.

It is worthy of our urgent action. This government, the Albanese government, is doing that. We don't need a royal commission to tell us how to act on this. Our good conscience tells us what to do.

Rowan Ramsey (Grey, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I will point out a couple of things to the member for Paterson. One is that Senator Nampijinpa Price has been calling for a royal commission since April. It wasn't just this week. It has been well over six months now since this issue was identified, and it should be acted upon. I was very disappointed today that it was not; the opportunity was not taken.

The other thing I'd point out is that the member for Paterson said that Aboriginal people voted yes in the referendum. I was astounded by the uniformity of in the results from the voting centres in Grey. In the towns that had higher levels of Indigenous populations, the vote was two per cent—of 80; we sit at 78.6 at the moment—and the towns with almost no Indigenous people voted the same. I've never seen a referendum or an election that had such a uniform result across the 141 voting booths in Grey. I think that puts the lie to that. Many Aboriginal people voted no in this referendum, and we saw many of them come out publicly to back that point of view.

It's worth noting that it was identified in the last week, in a very good article in the Australian, that 35 per cent of Aboriginal people sit within the lowest quintile of income in Australia—so 35 per cent of Aboriginals are in the bottom 20 per cent of income earners in Australia—and then it was pinpointed where they are. They are largely in the remote and very remote parts of Australia, and that is where they are in my electorate as well. Probably about 40 per cent of the Indigenous people in the electorate of Grey live in remote and very remote communities. It is in those communities where they are well overrepresented—it's more than 35 per cent. In fact, over 60 per cent sit within the lowest quintile of income. It is there that we need to address that gap. That is where we need to go to work.

I'm a regular visitor to all those communities, whether it be the APY Lands, the far west Aboriginal lands or the lands of the Arabana, the Adnyamathanha, the Kokatha or many other groups that sit within the electorate of Grey. I make a point of meeting with them and discussing what can help. I'm always amazed when I go to these communities—I meet with NGO after NGO, and I meet with government worker after government worker, and they all explain to me what program they are delivering. I sit down and talk with them, and I think: 'That sounds alright. That's a good idea. It sounds like they're doing a great job.' And I go along and to talk to the next one, and they're doing a great job—everybody's doing a great job, from one end to the other. Then I say to them, 'If you're all doing such a great job, why is it getting worse?' And you can almost see the blood run from their face as they think, 'Oh, I never thought of that before.'

But the fact of the matter is that, for all the money that's going into the top of the funnel, we're not getting much of a result out the bottom. In fact, we are going backwards in many of these communities, and that is why we are calling for an audit. We need to find out why tipping the money in the top isn't actually making a difference down on the ground. I'm not saying that people are out there scooping up the cash, taking it home and building mansions out on the east coast. What I'm saying is this: whatever programs we are delivering, they're not delivering the effect that they should be. We should have the guts to examine why that is.

For too long, people of all political persuasions have actually measured their contribution or their effort to close the gap in the number of dollars poured into the top of the funnel—very rarely do we actually examine the programs and look at what they're producing at the bottom end. Clearly we're not getting kids into school. We've had a go at a number of programs. I've seen them work sometimes and not work at other times. But kids are living in houses where they can't get to bed at night because there are poker games going on all night, there are too many people in the house all-out drunk, there's violence or they're getting raped. It's no wonder they're not doing well at school. One of the reasons they're not doing well at school is that their parents don't make them go to school. All these things are fundamental issues. Unless we can get them an education, we can't give them the keys to success in modern Australia. It is those people and those programs that we need to have an audit of to find out what works, what doesn't and where the money's going.

Andrew Charlton (Parramatta, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Child sexual abuse is an abhorrent reality faced by millions of people in this country. ABS data tells us that approximately 1.4 million Australians experience sexual abuse as a child. In last year's Personal Safety survey, more than 343,000 men and 1.1 million women across the country reported that they had been sexually abused before the age of 15. The data also tells us that the average age of experiencing sexual abuse is between eight and nine years old. That's the average age for a child experiencing sexual abuse. For Indigenous Australians, the statistics are even worse. Between 2021 and 2022, more than 13,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children were under child protection substantiation. That is seven times higher than for non-Indigenous children. I'll say that again: Indigenous children are seven times more likely to be exposed to child abuse.

The reason we know this, the reason we're aware of these terrible facts, is that we have had 22 reports into child abuse and neglect in Indigenous communities since the Bringing them home report in 1997. That's 22 reports outlining the nature of abuse, 22 reports explaining the causes of abuse and 22 reports explaining what we can do about it. That's why the Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care had this to say:

Another Royal Commission is not a solution. There have been more than 22 reports into allegations of abuse and neglect in our communities …

We don't need another one. What we do need is action.

Unfortunately for the last nine years we didn't get any action. They did nothing for nine years. What we saw from the Liberals, in government, is that they were asleep at the wheel, and then, in a pattern that has become all too familiar, they go from being asleep at the wheel in government to being backseat drivers in opposition. Well, their record speaks for itself. When they had the opportunity to take action on this issue, when they were in government, what did they do? They cut $13 million from Indigenous legal aid and policy reform programs within months of coming to office in 2013.

When Peter Dutton was the Minister for Health, he cancelled the $700 million National Partnership Agreement on Closing the Gap in Indigenous Health Outcomes—ripped it away. In the infamous 2015 budget the coalition slashed funding by $500 million on a swathe of Indigenous programs: education, Indigenous language, child welfare and legal services. There was a cut of $165 million by then health minister Peter Dutton from Indigenous health programs. He refused to provide ongoing funding to 38 Aboriginal children and family centres. This was the record that they had in office when they had a chance to do something about it. This is what they did when they had the opportunity to put action rather than just words into addressing this extremely serious problem. That's why is it extremely hard to take this proposition from this Leader of the Opposition.

This opposition leader walked out on the National Apology to the Stolen Generations. This opposition leader was lukewarm at best about the royal commission into institutional child sexual abuse. This opposition leader has campaigned against the Voice to Parliament that Indigenous people themselves put forward as one of the solutions towards closing the gap. It is difficult to take a proposition from an opposition leader who did nothing while in government, who slashed funding from these adjacent programs, who has campaigned against the aspirations of Indigenous people and who is now demanding an inquiry.

This government is getting on with the job of directly addressing the problem. The Albanese government has committed $262 million specifically to support and protect First Nations women and children who are experiencing family and domestic violence. That is why the government is also working to respond to the recommendations of the royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse and to implement the National Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Child Sexual Abuse. The Albanese government has committed to improving wellbeing— (Time expired)

Colin Boyce (Flynn, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Australians voted overwhelmingly 'no' at the recent referendum on changing the Constitution to enshrine an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voice to parliament. My electorate of Flynn delivered the second-highest 'no' vote in the land, with 84 per cent voting 'no'. Our largest Aboriginal community, Woorabinda, voted 'no'. This community of a thousand people has been identified as one of the poorest communities in Australia. Despite funding services for Woorabinda, nobody knows or understands where this money is going. If you analyse the referendum result, it is quite clear that mainstream Australia has sent a clear message to corporate Australia, to the management of our major sporting codes and its players, to the ritzy-glitzy media and entertainment personalities, to the inner-city Metropolitan dwellers who think they have a higher intelligence and to the Labor government. Mainstream Australia will not be dictated to and force-fed virtuous political rhetoric with no explanation and no results. One together, not two divided—that is the message that Australian people have sent to the government after voting down their voice proposal.

Australians want real answers to difficult questions and social problems that plague our most vulnerable communities, especially our most vulnerable children. Australians have a right to know where the billions of dollars of taxpayer money is achieving very little with respect to on-the-ground results. That is why there should be an audit of all expenditure to explain where it goes and, possibly, expose the gravy train incompetence of those administering these moneys. If you receive public money, the public expects value in return. This money goes to some of our most marginalised in some of the most remote communities. They depend on the delivery of these services, and they depend on them accurately representing their interests and their needs. Funding needs to be tied to proper and deliverable accountability measures. We need to understand what achievements we get from these outcomes, what needs more funding and what is being wasted. The horrific stories of child sexual abuse, domestic violence, alcohol and substance abuse, hunger and deplorable living conditions that children are exposed to is a disgraceful shame on Australian governance. This is why we need a royal commission into these issues that will deliver real practical solutions and expose those who inflict horror on these vulnerable children.

Every night that a child is unsafe, every night that a woman or an older person is subjected to violence, is one night too many. The Prime Minister doesn't want to have any part in addressing these difficult issues or having these difficult conversations. What we're saying is that we cannot step back from having these conversations, particularly as, in the national plan for eliminating domestic violence, the government says it wants to end it in a generation. And you have to start with our children. There's not enough focus on the issues that the children are exposed to. We aren't afraid to call out these issues in these communities. A blanket has been pulled over the eyes of reporting at the mention of Aboriginal children. The government does not want to have these difficult conversations or solve these difficult problems.

Earlier this year, at the height of some of our darkest days, Peter Dutton came to Alice Springs and spent time with communities and traditional owners, and he wasn't afraid to call for a royal commission. In contrast, the Prime Minister flew in for a few hours before leaving and then spent three days at the tennis. We can achieve bipartisan support now for a royal commission. The Prime Minister just has to get involved. It will save lives. If we had a royal commission, it would give a voice to the people who are impacted by this and it would enable remote communities to have their say.

Every Australian wants better outcomes for Indigenous Australians. We must prioritise the practical action that gets children to school, gets adults to work and keeps communities safe. Exactly what we want in the rest of our community is true for Indigenous Australians too, wherever they live.

In looking ahead, we want to achieve better results for our most vulnerable people, regardless of their heritage. Our focus is on practical action, driven by local communities.

Marion Scrymgour (Lingiari, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is with a feeling of deep sadness and anger that I have sat, since Monday, listening to the appalling, hypocrisy-ridden speeches by members on the other side, including the one made this morning by the Leader of the Opposition. It was a speech that the Leader of the Opposition could have taken straight from the 2007 Howard intervention in the Northern Territory—and the member for New England would remember that.

There is a pattern to the Leader of the Opposition's words. It's interesting. I sit here. I listen to him. He mentions 'the member for Lingiari', so I must be in his head. But he knows that his whole strategy with this is pure politics. It's not about the kids and it's not about the families, because for nine years the member for New England and the Leader of the Opposition were senior members of a government that gutted the bush. They removed—

You did. You gutted the bush. There is a pattern to the Leader of the Opposition's words. Whenever he needs a political score, he politicises and weaponises Aboriginal communities.

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

I'll not tolerate further interjections, Member for New England.

Marion Scrymgour (Lingiari, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

He is not interested in substance or developing policy. He is completely captured by his senators and the populism that we have seen, and Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory are sick of it. If you look at the votes for the referendum, they are sick of it—places like Wadeye, 92 per cent, and Maningrida, 86 per cent. People are sick to death of politicians beating down on them.

I draw this chamber's attention to the words of SNAICC, the Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care. One year ago, the SNAICC CEO, Arrernte woman Catherine Liddle, said:

Seven per cent! In 31 per cent it was neglect. Of those numbers, seven per cent were substantiated cases of sexual abuse, compared to 10 per cent in the non-Aboriginal population. So this isn't only about Aboriginal kids; this is about vulnerable children, regardless of whether they're black or white. It is about all of our families and making sure, in particular, that our government is committed to targeting domestic and family violence, because when women are vulnerable to violence so are their children.

This government has its policy on track, and rightly so, because when you assist a woman, you save a child. It is not about playing politics, because every time child protection is politicised, perpetrators go underground, and that is a concern. When Howard and Brough intervened in the Northern Territory because of allegations of child sexual abuse, not one perpetrator was ever caught. Do you know why? It's because it was completely politicised from the side of those opposite. Women and children wanted those perpetrators found, but the minute it was politicised by you blokes on the other side, those perpetrators went underground. So our children and our women were left vulnerable.

This is too important an issue to continually play politics. The other side gutted Aboriginal communities, and the Leader of the Opposition—his hypocrisy in terms of standing up and preaching. The man should look in the mirror. He should hold a mirror up to himself.

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

The discussion has now concluded.