Jordon Steele-John (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

[by video link] I want to clarify something I said in my concluding remarks in the section before. What I meant to say was that the opportunity to pass these amendments is now before the Senate. If it were before the community, we probably would have done this in 2019. It is now indeed before the Senate.

In relation to these particular amendments, I want to contextualise them briefly and ask the minister a clarifying question. Of course, one of the major thrusts of these amendments is to ensure that information given in relation to systemic violence, abuse, neglect or exploitation is fully and comprehensively covered by the aspects of the broader bill. Ensuring this is of great concern to the disability community because we understand, through lived experience, that it is often systems, institutions and policy processes that either are actively involved in violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation or form the context in which we experience those things.

As to asking people to come forward and giving people the protections required to come forward to disclose these types of abuse and exploitation, if you are an individual within a government department, an institution or a private entity, it is quite an intimidating prospect to do that brave piece and blow the whistle. First of all, I want to ask the minister whether she is able to offer an assurance to the parliament and to the community as to the legal consequences that face anybody who attempts to dissuade or, in any way, cause a negative outcome for somebody who blows the whistle. Secondly, is she able to offer encouragement to people, particularly within a government department—state or federal—that it is the desire of the government to see individuals with information disclose it to the commission so that we can have that information included within recommendations?