Paul Scarr (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I present the report of the Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee, Current and proposed sexual consent laws in Australia, together with accompanying documents, and I move:

That the Senate take note of the report.

This work, in relation to Australia's sexual consent laws, is perhaps some of the most important work I will ever do in this place. First, I'd like to convey my deep gratitude and respect, on behalf of the Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee, to those victims-survivors who had the courage and the generosity of spirit to give evidence to our committee. The committee was truly inspired by those victims-survivors who were motivated by their own abuse and trauma to become advocates for others.

We thank everyone who made submissions to this inquiry. I personally thank all members of the secretariat who were involved—including the secretary, Sophie Dunstone, and Monika Sheppard—for their outstanding work in providing support to the inquiry. I would also like to convey thanks to Hansard and Broadcasting, who heard the evidence with the rest of us as we went through this committee. In that regard, could I mention Keith Andrew in particular.

I pay my deep respects to Senator Green for moving the motion referring this matter to the Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee, and I also pay my deep respects to Senator Waters for her engagement in the work of this inquiry and her longstanding advocacy in relation to these matters. I'd also like to thank those journalists and members of the media who gave coverage to the important work of this inquiry, including Claudia Long, Natassia Chrysanthos, Amy Remeikis, Finn McHugh, Matt Killoran, Kristine Ziwica and Hugo Timms. It is so important that we have independent media who provide coverage of these important matters so that the concerns which are considered are communicated to people across Australia.

The evidence of the prevalence of sexual assault in this country is truly horrifying. The most recent ABS study on personal safety in Australia found that one in five Australian women—just reflect on that: one in five Australian women—have suffered sexual assault, as have one in 20 Australian men. The case for action is overwhelming.

The work of the inquiry has culminated in a 116-page report and 17 recommendations, which were made unanimously by the Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee. Each and every one of these recommendations has the unanimous support of all members of the committee.

I would like now to speak about those recommendations and the importance of those recommendations. Recommendation 1 is to ensure that the agency of victims-survivors is paramount and central in relation to these issues and that it be actively respected and upheld. Recommendation 2 is that Australian jurisdictions which have recently legislated an affirmative consent model design and implement a framework for the evaluation of that standard in practice, with outcomes to be reported to the Standing Council of Attorneys-General. Recommendation 3 is that evaluations of the impact of affirmative consent models be an annual standing item on the agenda of the Standing Council of Attorneys-General. This issue must remain a standing agenda item when this country's attorneys-general gather to discuss the issues relating to Australian law. Recommendation 4 is that the Australian Law Reform Commission include an affirmative consent standard in any proposal to harmonise Australia's sexual consent laws and take into account the evidence of the operation of recently adopted affirmative consent laws. Recommendation 5 was that the Commonwealth government, after it receives the recommendations from Australian Law Reform Commission, act on those recommendations and respond within six months. This is urgent. The time for delay has passed. Action is required now. Recommendation 6 relates to the urgent need for funding of research into these matters. Recommendation 7 is in relation to protocols for providing assistance to those victims-survivors who report their sexual assaults to law enforcement agencies so those victims-survivors understand the process which they will be going through. Recommendation 8 is for specialised and trauma informed legal services to provide support to victims-survivors.

These are recommendations which go across the whole of society, because this is Australian society's issue. It is an issue for all of us. I come back to that original shocking figure: one in five Australian women have been the subject of a sexual assault, as have one in 20 Australian men. This is a whole-of-society issue.

Recommendation 9 is for a restorative justice pilot program to explore more sensitive and trauma informed approaches in the criminal justice system to sexual violence, provided that the agency of the victim-survivor remains central. Recommendation 10 is for the Police Ministers Council to consider a guide for specialist education and training for law enforcement officers. Recommendation 11 is in relation to justices of our courts having a bench book to give them guidance with respect to the conduct of trials in this area. Recommendation 12 is in respect of jury directions in the course of trials in relation to sexual assaults. Recommendations 13 and 14 are about consistent and effective delivery of comprehensive respectful relationships education in Australian schools and universities.

Now I wish to say something about our tertiary sector, our university sector. This is the subject of recommendations 15 to 17. I want to quote first an outstanding Australian Sharna Bremner, who was the founder and director of End Rape on Campus. She gave evidence to our committee with her fellow director Nina Funnell. We should all carefully reflect on this. She said:

A really common theme among the students we've supported over the last eight-nine years now is, 'My rape was bad, but the way my university responded was worse.' We hear very often the effects of retraumatisation once students have reported. They feel incredibly unsupported, even if they can find where to report in the first place.

We heard the most disturbing evidence in relation to the failure of our university sector to appropriately respond to the issue of sexual violence on university campuses around this nation. I want to quote directly from the report. This is a paragraph that we considered very carefully in terms of composing this inquiry report. Paragraph 5.105 states:

It is a searing indictment of Australia's university sector and the regulator, the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA), that dedicated and courageous advocates for university students who have suffered from sexual violence on campus should hold the view that the process of making complaints and how universities and the regulator deal with such complaints is causing great trauma to the victims of sexual violence. In the strongest terms, this committee says that is a shameful state of affairs. It is unacceptable.

Paragraph 5.112 states:

In these circumstances, the committee considers that Australian taxpayers' money—

in relation to a proposed consent education scheme—

has not been well spent and, more regrettably, an opportunity to provide engaging, informative and effective material—

had been lost. Paragraph 5.118 states:

Given the evidence, the committee lacks confidence that the university sector (as a whole) will respond appropriately to the crisis without strong intervention. This is a regrettable conclusion that the committee does not come to lightly. The time for 'working groups' has passed. In the committee's view, a taskforce—

an independent task force—

with effective powers should be immediately established to ensure accountability in the university sector.

That's what this committee recommends.