Rachel Siewert (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

Reluctant as I am to keep going over some old ground, the minister just made a comment which may have been in the heat of a moment or may be what is driving some of these permit changes. He made a comment that it is only when people from the east coast travel through and get outraged and go back to the east coast and start stirring—he did not use the word ‘stirring’; that is my paraphrase. Now, I am sorry, but how many reports have we had about child abuse in the Northern Territory? You are not honestly telling us that it is just because people may have seen what is going on in these areas and gone back and caused outrage that you are taking action? Firstly, that is just a nonsense argument. But, secondly, does that mean we are going to open up every home in Australia for people to go in and see if there is abuse going on and then we will all get outraged? Because that is what you are doing—you are opening up Aboriginal owned land for people to go into to express outrage. Is that what you are doing it for? Let us do it for every Australian home. I know you are not implying—because we have been over this ground—that it is only in Aboriginal communities that child abuse occurs. So should we go out and tell the rest of Australia: ‘It’s okay, we’re going to open up all your homes so we can go in and get outraged and then do something about child abuse’? That is nonsense.