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

I'm pleased to inform the House that present in the Speaker's Gallery today are Mrs Denise Morcombe OAM and Mr Bruce Morcombe OAM, founders of the Daniel Morcombe Foundation, which is recognising 20 years of work across Australia. On behalf of the House, I extend a warm welcome to you and your guests.

Honourable members: Hear, hear!

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

on indulgence—I want to rise to acknowledge Denise and Bruce Morcombe, who honour us with their presence in the parliament today. I had the privilege of meeting with them in my office earlier this morning.

In 2003 Denise and Bruce lived every parent's very worst nightmare, when their beloved son Daniel was taken from them just before his 14th birthday. Bruce and Denise suffered a terrible loss and endured what must have felt like an endless wait for answers and for a measure of justice. Yet they channelled that unimaginable grief and sadness into something quite extraordinary, the Daniel Morcombe Foundation, an organisation dedicated to keeping children safe both in the physical environment and online.

Today we had the opportunity, tragically, to talk about the shift that's occurred in risk. When most of us in this chamber were younger, there wasn't the threat of online danger, of grooming or of the sorts of attacks and vulnerability that young people have today. The role that these two great citizens of Queensland have played in raising awareness is, I think, quite inspirational. Through nearly 20 years of Days for Daniel, Dances for Daniel, and a host of other initiatives, the foundation has raised funds and awareness to support the work they do across Australia, giving presentations on child safety to schools and community groups and helping parents have those all-important conversations with their children about the risks that are out there. I think the figure they were aiming for was 8,000 schools to be engaged with, which is amazing.

As every parent knows, this is a challenge that is constantly evolving—and I know you've been involved with the organisation yourself, Mr Speaker—especially with technology and social media moving so fast and extending seemingly into every corner of our lives. All of us are grappling with what we can do as parents and as lawmakers, and I know I speak for the whole parliament when I say that we are grateful that Denise and Bruce are providing their expertise and perspective to the National Strategy Advisory Group of the National Office for Child Safety.

The National Office for Child Safety was established by the Turnbull government, acting on the recommendation of the Gillard government's Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. The office leads the implementation of the National Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Child Sexual Abuse. This is and always will be an area that commands the support of every member of this chamber. That's why, at our meeting today, we discussed your request for funding for the Day for Daniel, Australia's biggest child safety lesson, and a legacy educational piece for the 20th year as well. I can inform Denise and Bruce that this afternoon I will take a proposal for a one-off $2 million payment to the foundation to our budget process. I've discussed this with the Leader of the Opposition, and I thank him as well for reaching across the aisle. We've had a couple of constructive discussions prior to question time today. This is not a partisan issue; this is an issue in which we all join together in this chamber. I hope that this relatively small amount of funding, though, will enable you to really get on your feet and to achieve what you want to—particularly with the 20th anniversary, which is something that I think is deserving of this parliament's support.

The government is grateful for the backing that the Daniel Morcombe Foundation has given to the current 'One Talk at a Time' campaign, which is aimed at preventing child sexual abuse. Bruce and Denise, you have shown a courage and resilience that lifts us all up. Your foundation inspires, it educates and it helps make Australia a better and a safer place. Above all, your work represents a lasting expression of profound love for your son. Thank you for being here today, and thank you for what you do.

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

Andrew Wallace (Fisher, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

December 7, 2003, was a day I remember. I was working in the front yard in my house in Palmwoods when I heard the message come across the radio that a young boy had been taken from Palmwoods, from a bus stop. The entire community was in a sense of grief that day. I don't think I'll ever forget that. My eldest daughter used to go to school with Daniel. The sense of grief from the Sunshine Coast community was palpable, for years and years, whilst Daniel remained missing.

I think Australians will never forget the grief and pain that you must have been going through, Denise and Bruce. But you turned that grief into good. Whilst I think most families, most parents, would be inconsolable in their grief—I think most human beings would go into their shells—you two didn't. You used that as an opportunity to go out and spread the message of the risks that children face. I think each and every single one of us in this chamber—and every parent around this country—would look, in some degree of awe, at what you did. I know the work that you do is saving children's lives.

On behalf of my colleagues here, I want to thank you both so much for the work that you do. And I want to thank the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition for coming together and agreeing to fund you, moving forward.