Dorinda Cox (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

How many royal commissions and inquiries are sitting and collecting dust on the shelf? Let me enlighten you. There were four national inquiries between 1997 and 2012, and three of those were Senate community affairs committee inquiries. There were also 15 state-led inquiries between 1990 and 2016. The money that would be spent on a royal commission—because that's what's on show here, in another bloody audit—would have been better spent directly in those communities.

And what is at the core of this is unspeakable. The end goal for that side of the chamber is something completely different from what's written in this motion.

Now I want to read a statement that was given to me today, because those on that side of the chamber who are bringing this motion in here today didn't even go to the national frontline services for sexual assault in this country. And the statement reads: 'NASASV does not support any further inquiries and encourages funding to frontline sexual assault services, to support work in this area across Australia. NASASV does not believe any more inquiries will benefit people and committees. In fact, further inquiries would do more harm. Resources would be better directed to immediate action, including funding frontline sexual assault services. Inquiries will not add any further knowledge base to what we already know, and what we need right now is action.'