Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I do not know which members of the community Senator Johnston is talking to, but they are not the ones that have been giving me the feedback.

Senator Abetz interjecting—

What the Australian community wants is a defence minister who stands up for the right thing, who not only respects and supports our troops but ensures that a young woman who has been subject of a terrible assault has her rights protected. He stood up very strongly for those rights. I think he did it as a lawyer, as a father and as a minister, and I am very proud of the stand he took. It reflected his very firm views and his strong response to what he thought was an error of judgment. He stands by that judgement he took. He stands by those views. He has my full support in making them. If you talk to any parent of ADF serving personnel, they strongly support the stance he took, too, because they want a minister who stands up for the rights of their children while they are serving in the ADF.