Nigel Scullion (NT, Country Liberal Party, Minister for Community Services) Share this | Hansard source

We have been basically referring to two reports. Just for the record to make it absolutely clear, the Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills Alert Digest report says that the minister will consider carefully, as he always does, and he will make his report to the chairman, as he has always done. That is the convention. The minister will also consider the recommendations of the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee. I have already outlined the principles of our acceptance of the recommendations of the report—not all of them, but there is broad acceptance—and I support the majority of the recommendations put forward.

There was a comment that it was not the second recommendation but part 2 of the first recommendation. I was simply responding to your assertion that it was the second recommendation and I apologise if there was any error in my understanding of that.

In terms of the recommendations of the Little children are sacred report, frankly, I think that most people who have had much to do with this debate and those who have considered both the shocking content of the report and the recommendations could not help but be underwhelmed, Senator. I do not think that you should be anything but disappointed. As for it being very bureaucratic and having more consultation, you say that consultation does not mean delay. We have been consulting. If you look back over time, in July 2006 we had a summit that everybody contributed to about child abuse and violence. There was a series of reports, and Senator Heffernan made an excellent contribution earlier in which he referred to another report, and we are now saying: ‘We won’t really delay, but let’s go and talk about these things again. Let’s go and have another round of consultation about something we already know about.’ If we read the report, we are all, as Australians, absolutely horrified and shocked by it—and so we should be. Whilst the report talks about advisory bodies and frameworks and reviewers and coordinators, one of the things that it seems to lack, fundamentally, is action. Perhaps that is the difference between how this government views it and how others view it. We have spent years on consultation and there has been no action at all. I am very cautious and respectful, but, if you consulted with the kids or women who are being abused or the families of those people, they would say: ‘Act now. Act yesterday.’