Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Indigenous Affairs, Senator Scullion. Can the minister advise the Senate when he or his office first became aware of allegations of abuse at the Don Dale Youth Detention Centre?

Nigel Scullion (NT, Country Liberal Party, Minister for Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It was through the media and discussions at the time in the Northern Territory media and some national media that I first became aware of those allegations.

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I repeat my request as to when, because I do not think the minister gave an approximate date in that answer. I also ask a supplementary question. I refer to the minister's statement the day after the Four Corners report on abuse at the Don Dale Youth Detention Centre:

I wish I'd known what I know today, or I knew yesterday afternoon, some time ago, but the facts of the matter were I didn't know.

Is this statement correct?

Nigel Scullion (NT, Country Liberal Party, Minister for Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The statement is correct. But I think I should perhaps enlarge on that. I was making a statement in the context of the difference between what I had seen the night before on the Four Corners report and everything else that had been on both the public record and, in fact, in both the reports that were provided to the Northern Territory government. One was in stark contrast to the other, and I was reflecting on 'I wish we had all known what was really happening,' not what was either reported in the media or, in fact, was in the reports that had been provided to the Northern Territory government. I am sure I would share that with many others.

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Wong, a final supplementary question.

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Despite falsely asserting that the minister did not know about abuse at Don Dale, can the minister confirm, first, that the Northern Territory government released the Vita report, an internal review of youth detention in the Territory in February 2015; second, that the Children's Commissioner released its report detailing the mistreatment of young people in youth detention in September 2015; and, third, that he was briefed by his department by way of a question time briefing, and he still did nothing?

Nigel Scullion (NT, Country Liberal Party, Minister for Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you for the question. I can confirm—and you have answered the first part of the question for me—it was during the release of those reports and the media in the Northern Territory that I first came to understand about those events. The circumstances under which I received information are—I received no briefing at the time. I said the briefing I should receive was one that all ministers receive. It is a briefing we sign for. We actually say, 'Yes, I've received it.' It would have been a comprehensive briefing. The option you are saying as the other thing is that we had some information in a question time pack. It was exactly the same information—an issue du jour, what is in the media of the day. I can confirm it was exactly the same in the media of the day. You are trying to conflate two types of briefs. One is a brief I know I get. The other is a reflection of the media of the day, and that is what I received in my question time brief at the time. A briefing pack that I should have— (Time expired)