Carol Brown (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Tourism) Share this | Hansard source

It was indeed an honour to join the thousands of people—strong girls and women—yesterday who gathered outside this building, along with the tens of thousands who marched throughout Australia. But I'm tired, like so many others, of the fact that we are still marching, and I'm tired of the fact that women in Australia still need to call for justice. I listened to the contribution of the previous speaker, and it's with great disappointment that I remind her that Mr Morrison is our Prime Minister—he is the Prime Minister of every single one of those people that marched for justice, and they deserved for him to come out and join them and listen to what they had to say.

These are sad stories and bravely told, but, for every one of these stories, can you imagine how many stories are still deep down inside people who have not yet found a way forward to tell their stories? They're deep down and they never go away. It catches you at a moment when you are unaware. It just springs up on you. It comes back, and again you have to start that long journey to put it behind you and try to go on, keep going, because that's what we need to do. That's what women and girls need to do. We can't be beaten by this.

Unfortunately, the Prime Minister has taken a wrong turn here. He has set a path for himself that is absolutely the wrong way to go, and so has the Minister for Women. I truly do not know why they couldn't go out and just listen. That's what people were asking for. We're talking about people who have had some of the most horrific assaults made against them—in their workplaces, out in the community, in their schools, in their homes. All they were asking was for their representatives—the Prime Minister is their representative; the Minister for Women is their representative—to come out and listen, to respect their voices.

I heard one of the coalition members who did actually go to the rally say it was really, really exciting to meet the Prime Minister. Well, I can tell her that thousands of people were out there willing to meet the Prime Minister but he didn't show up. He didn't show up! All those girls, women and all their supporters out there were willing for this Prime Minister to show the way forward, because we all know language means everything. His actions mean everything. The way the community enter this debate is based on the way they see their Prime Minister. We know that. But what do we get? We get: 'At least you can do it without being threatened by bullets.' We get: 'The offer still stands.' If only they could hear what they're actually saying to people. Enough is enough! (Time expired)