Sarah Henderson (Victoria, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to make a contribution to this debate. I agree with Senator Keneally that this has been a very harrowing week for senators and members, for parliamentary staff and, frankly, for all Australians. We have learnt about an alleged sexual assault in Parliament House. This is a very serious and distressing matter. These allegations are very distressing. My heart goes out to Brittany Higgins. She has been remarkably courageous. She has been remarkably strong. I again want to place on record my relief, in some respects, that she has decided to make a formal complaint to police.

I think everyone in this building, everyone listening to this debate, every woman and man across this country, expects that, when these very serious alleged crimes occur, justice must be done. That's what we want to see: justice. I hope, trust and expect, as we all do, that the police will fully investigate this allegation as well as, we hope, the allegations made by other women in relation to this alleged perpetrator. As the Prime Minister has made clear, the welfare of Ms Higgins and other women who have come forward is absolutely paramount.

I want to reflect on Senator Birmingham's contribution to the Senate on Monday morning, when he reiterated:

Minister Reynolds has expressed to the Senate how deeply sorry she is that, despite her genuine efforts and intentions of support, Ms Higgins felt unsupported at the time of her alleged sexual assault … In telling her story, Ms Higgins has prompted a national conversation about how we ensure women are safe—

and, I'd add, how we ensure men are safe—

in this workplace that we are all a part of …

As he said, this needs to be more than a conversation; we need to make sure that the appropriate action is taken. I'm very pleased, of course, that the minister, Senator Birmingham, is leading an independent, cross-party review at arm's length to look at how we can prevent such incidents in the future, how to do a better job in how they are handled and how anyone in Ms Higgins's situation can be better supported. We've got universal support for that aspiration.

I do want to place on record my concern about the attack and some of the focus on Senator Reynolds. She's currently in hospital. She has spoken about her medical issues and she is, I hope, going to be very well very quickly, but I think there has been, by the Labor Party, an unwarranted focus on Senator Reynolds. There has been more focus on the 'gotcha moment' than on justice. All of us want to see justice. We want the politics taken out of this. Now that there is a formal police investigation underway, I say: let the police do their job. To the extent that there are unanswered questions, please allow the police to do their job so that this investigation can in no way be compromised. The police will have full scope to ask all relevant questions and to interview all relevant people in relation to these allegations. I say again to Brittany and to other women and men who may have suffered this type of terrible alleged crime: we can do better, we will do better and we want to see justice done.