Deborah O'Neill (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I inform the Senate that at 8.30 am today 28 proposals were received in accordance with standing order 75. The question of which proposal would be submitted to the Senate was determined by lot. As a result, I inform the Senate that the letter from Senator Rice proposing a matter of urgency was chosen:

Pursuant to standing order 75, I give notice that today I propose to move "That, in the opinion of the Senate, the following is a matter of urgency:

"The urgent need for the Morrison Government to respect the thousands of Australians who marched in the Women's March 4 Justice yesterday, take urgent action to end gendered violence and sexual harassment, and establish an independent inquiry into the Attorney-General's fitness to hold that position."

Is the proposal supported?

More than the number of senators required by the standing orders having risen in their places—

I understand that informal arrangements have been made to allocate specific times to each of the speakers in today's debate. With the concurrence of the Senate, I shall ask the clerks to set the clock accordingly.

Larissa Waters (Queensland, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

At the request of Senator Rice, I move:

That, in the opinion of the Senate, the following is a matter of urgency:

The urgent need for the Morrison Government to respect the thousands of Australians who marched in the Women's March 4 Justice yesterday, take urgent action to end gendered violence and sexual harassment, and establish an independent inquiry into the Attorney-General's fitness to hold that position.

I rise to speak on the matter of public urgency, which is the urgent need for the Morrison government to respect the thousands of Australians who marched in the Women's March 4 Justice yesterday to take urgent action to end gendered violence and sexual harassment and to establish an independent inquiry into the Attorney-General's fitness to hold that position.

It's been a rough few weeks in this place. It's been a rough few weeks for women right around the country. It's been a rough few centuries, frankly, but these matters have been brought to a head in this workplace with the rape of a staffer and with allegations of a historical rape of a young woman by the Attorney-General. Now, sadly, we know this happens far too much, far too often in many workplaces, in many homes and on the streets, but the nation's attention is now on this matter, and there is a building momentum for justice and for equality and safety for all women.

That was on display so powerfully yesterday. Like some of the people in this chamber, I went down to the Women's March 4 Justice. I was one of the 100,000 people across the country who did that. I felt rage, but I felt strength and I felt hope that so many people wanted action on this most crucial issue of women's safety and our rights to equality and to freedom from violence and abuse. I think every member of parliament should have been there yesterday, and I was extremely disappointed that the Prime Minister didn't make the effort to walk out of this building for a few minutes and do some listening. Women are hurting, and all we see is this government trying to silence us, trying to ignore us and trying to distract from the political attention with other announcements that it's so desperate to talk about because it doesn't want to talk about women and rapists in its own ranks.

Women are not going to be placated. We are angry and we are not going anywhere. It was a really stark contrast yesterday, with women hitting the streets. There were young women, old women, men who support women's rights for safety and equality—a whole spectrum of people, including lots of really strong women of colour on the speakers' podium, lots of survivors and lots of support. But in this place, in these halls of power, the patriarchy just wanted to protect itself. The status quo just wanted to protect itself. That was very disappointing.

We saw when the rape allegations of Ms Brittany Higgins were first made that the Prime Minister didn't know that rape was bad until he spoke to his wife and she had to say, 'What if this was our daughters?' To that I say women have value irrespective of our relationship to a man. The fact that the Prime Minister needed to be reminded of that and didn't intuitively know it was really the start of a national heartbreak that this guy is in charge and just doesn't get it—so deeply doesn't get it. It's just gotten worse since then, because he had a little chat with Minister Porter, took his word that it was all totes okay, didn't even bother to read the dossier from the woman who alleged that she was raped by Christian Porter as a teenager and who has now taken her own life. And now, of course, the police can't keep the investigation open, because she's not with us anymore and didn't sign her extensive statement prior to taking her own life. The system let her down, and now the system is protecting itself rather than delivering justice. For shame.

That's why women marched yesterday. I was proud to receive two petitions, and I will be moving a motion tomorrow giving voice to those petitions. They really articulate what women want right now. It's an inquiry not just into the rapes that have happened here in Parliament House but into rapes that happen everywhere. I want to remind people of the stark statistics, because often we hear from men: 'Why didn't she go to the police straightaway? She must be making it up, because she didn't go to the cops straightaway.' It shows absolutely no understanding of the psychology of rape and it particularly shows no understanding of the fact that the justice system lets women down at almost every turn. We know that only about 10 per cent of sexual assaults are reported, because women fear they won't be believed, they know they will be retraumatised and they will be discouraged from pursuing it. Of that 10 per cent, we know about 10 per cent, so one per cent of the total, actually progresses to a conviction. So one per cent of rapes and sexual assaults lead to a conviction. Is it any wonder that women don't seek justice more often? They know it's not going to be delivered.

We should be fixing that, but instead the Prime Minister is victim blaming and is taking the word of alleged perpetrators and not even giving victims and survivors the dignity of reading their words. He is trying to get off this issue as quickly as possible. It's not going away, Prime Minister. I'm so pleased that some of the members of the coalition attended yesterday's march. I'm really pleased that folk from many other parties attended as well. But the Prime Minister wasn't there and the Minister for Women wasn't there. They should have been there, because those speeches were incredibly powerful. They called for justice for sexual assault survivors. They called for action on those recommendations in the Respect@work report, which was tabled 14 months ago and has barely seen the light of day. I asked yesterday how many recommendations had been acted upon. I got told 'a number'. Today we hear it's three of 55 that some action has been exerted on. Well, fine. But do better. Three is not 55. Please action all of them.

I am pleased that there is now a particular report into sexual harassment and the culture of Parliament House that's been established and that the Sex Discrimination Commissioner will lead that and that it will cover every worker in this building, not just the staff members but the people who work in the press gallery, the people who look after the kids in the early childhood education centre and the people who make coffee at Aussie's. I think that culture review is going to be explosive. But what I want to see is a commitment from this government, or the next, that those recommendations will be acted upon, because the last ones have been tantamount to ignored and it's not good enough.

So women are hitting the streets. We are raising these issues. We won't accept a Prime Minister that ignores us, that doesn't get these issues and that just closes ranks and stands with his privileged white men to keep their power entrenched. It's not going to fly with the electorate. I know the Prime Minister doesn't want to listen to women, but maybe he will listen to Newspoll, and that's already showing that his support and support for his party is dropping. I suspect this is one of the reasons. Women vote, Prime Minister. If that's all you care about, at least you could reflect on that. We marched for justice yesterday. We will fight for justice every day. Women belong in this building. We deserve safety. We deserve safety no matter what place we are in. We stand united to deliver that outcome.

Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Families and Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to assure all Australians today that the Morrison government absolutely respects the thousands of Australians who yesterday attended the March 4 Justice. We respect their right to protest. In particular, I want to acknowledge the bravery of survivors of family, domestic and sexual violence who shared their personal stories. My sincere hope is that the words that have been spoken by the survivors of sexual violence will create a real and lasting change to ensure that every woman, young or old, not only is safe but feels safe, whether it be in their home, in their school or in their workplace. My commitment to these women, survivors and all Australians is that I will put every effort into doing my job in here, in this place, because I know that I have an incredibly privileged position to be able to effect change.

More than 11 years ago, the first National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children commenced. It was a world-leading plan, and I acknowledge those members who were part of the creation of that plan. Today, along with the Minister for Women, I have carriage of delivery of the Fourth Action Plan under the national plan, which seeks to end gendered violence. And we're seeing a seismic change in the discourse around the issues of family, domestic and sexual violence. This is not a conversation we could have had 11 years ago, but we are able to have it today. As a society, we know that our attitudes are changing, and this has been evidenced by evaluation and statistics as well as by the March 4 Justice that occurred around the country yesterday. But there is still so much more to do. In joining with the Minister for Women, we are saying, 'We are listening, we are acting and we are looking to the future—a future free of violence.'

One woman is killed by a current or former partner every nine days. One in six women has experienced physical violence by a current or former partner since the age of 15. This figure increases to nearly one in four women when violence by boyfriends, girlfriends and dates is included. Of concern is the fact that one in four young people are prepared to excuse violence from a partner. Since 2013 more than $1 billion has been invested directly to support the Fourth Action Plan of the national plan. The Fourth Action Plan develops on the work done over the previous three plans; $68.3 million, or 20 per cent of the total funding, has gone to primary prevention strategies to improve attitudes towards gender equality and to stop violence before it begins.

I'm incredibly proud today to be able to tell you about the $18.8 million Stop it at the Start third tranche of the campaign, which was launched over the weekend. It's a campaign that challenges disrespectful attitudes learned in childhood that, if left unchecked, can escalate to violence. It's a campaign that we know is having a real and tangible impact, with research revealing that the first two phases prompted 42 per cent of all adults to take action to challenge disrespectful attitudes towards women. Primary prevention must be a focus of the next national plan, but we know we can't do this standing alone. Under the Fourth Action Plan we committed $82 million to targeting frontline services, $78 million to keeping victims safe in safe places and in their own homes and $7.8 million to working with male victims and perpetrators in family law matters. Also, in response to COVID-19, we quickly allocated $130 million in additional funding for frontline services as well as $20 million to boost the Commonwealth initiatives, including 1800RESPECT, our national 24/7 hotline, and the men's line, and to promote our Help is Here campaign.

The way I'm choosing to stand up for women is by putting every effort into rolling out significant government investment in primary prevention, early intervention, frontline services and education. Action should unite us all, not divide us, and it must be above political pointscoring. Now is a pivotal time for all Australians, as a nation, as we publicly discuss and deal with issues around sexual violence and disrespect towards women. Only yesterday I met with the Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Kate Jenkins, to discuss these very issues. We are already implementing much of the work Kate has undertaken with the Respect@Work program, including making sure that the 1800RESPECT number is permanently funded into the future. The next national plan will commence in mid-2022, and we are focusing on all the new and emerging issues that weren't in existence when we commenced our first plan 11 years ago. We must have a prevention focus and look towards building the fence at the top of the cliff rather than being the ambulance at the bottom. We must look to what survivors are saying and at what we can do to prevent violence and disrespect at the very start.

Finally, I want to put on the record that I do not support an independent inquiry into the allegations of a criminal nature. Politicians, like all Australians, have the right to the presumption of innocence. We cannot support a dangerous precedent to stand down an individual merely on the basis of an allegation.

Nita Green (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This urgency motion does a couple of things, and it's important to recognise that it calls on the government to act to end gendered violence, It also calls on the government to establish an independent inquiry into the Attorney-General's fitness to hold the position of the first law officer in this country. Seventeen per cent of women in Australia have experienced sexual violence. Sixteen per cent of women have experienced sexual violence from a man they know. Eight women have died this year alone—it's March—from violence. But it's not good enough to stand here and read out statistics as the minister just did then. It's about action and it's about leadership. That is why this parliament is calling on the Prime Minister to show leadership in this space.

On the issue of whether we need an independent investigation, let's be clear about what we are asking for. We have heard the Prime Minister—and even the minister, just now, and I suspect some senators who will speak after me—say words like, 'That's a matter for the police and for the courts; let's leave it for the proper processes.' They try to use legal terms, saying to people, 'You wouldn't really understand; this is a really complicated legal issue.' Members of the public understand, wholeheartedly, that police investigations in criminal court proceedings are the best way—in fact, the only way—to determine whether a person should be convicted of a crime and deprived of their liberty. That is the way to do it, to make that decision, to have that test. That is the rule of law that the Prime Minister has referred to on so many occasions. That is the proper process for a criminal conviction. But the rule of law does not prevent the Prime Minister holding an independent investigation into the fitness of the Attorney-General to hold office. That is a different test. It does not determine if the Attorney-General should be criminally convicted. That is not the independent investigation that members on this side of the house have been calling for, and to confuse the two issues does a real disservice to this very important issue and to the importance of the role that the Attorney-General plays in our legal system in this country.

The Prime Minister must give himself and Australians confidence that Christian Porter is a fit and proper person to hold ministerial office—not just ministerial office but as the first law officer of this country. He hasn't even read the allegations that have been made against the Attorney-General, so how could he possibly decide that there is nothing to be investigated? We know that this just won't go away. This isn't something this government can ride out. What the marches showed yesterday is that women will not let this go. We're not talking about one particular case; we are talking about systemic gendered violence taking place in our country.

I've seen people on the other side of politics try to say that the allegations of the Attorney-General are being used to somehow play out the other allegations, other cases, other instances of violence, that have been made against men in this country. That is conflating two very separate issues, but it is important to understand why that is insulting to victims in this country when the Prime Minister gets up there and says things like, 'Let the courts deal with it; let the proper processes deal with this issue.'

Victims in this country know that the court processes don't deliver many convictions. Victims in this country know that court processes eliminate certain evidence, that there is a different test for a criminal conviction. That is why there are low reporting rates. It is why we have low conviction rates. It is why cases of sexual assault through the courts can take up to 40 weeks to be heard. And when the government goes out there and says that the rule of law should be the only way to determine whether an allegation is truthful or not, when it comes to the Attorney-General, when it comes to ministerial responsibility, it dismisses the lived experiences of victims.

This has brought up so many issues for women in this country, so much anger and so many memories of things that people have been through. When I was younger, my friend and I were at a pub and we saw a friend of her boyfriend. This man had a girlfriend of his own. He was well known and well liked. When I walked past him, he grabbed me in a way that made it seem like it was a big joke. But I had to push him off me.

He followed us home and asked if he could sleep on the couch instead of catching a cab. I gave him a blanket and closed the door. My friend went to sleep in one room and I went to sleep in another. I woke up to a sound at my door and this man was half naked in the hallway. He came into my bedroom. I asked him to stop. He did stop but not because I asked him to. He stopped because we'd heard a sound outside in the hallway. It was my friend. She was crying. She was vomiting. She was crying and vomiting because before he came into my room he had gone into her room. She woke up mid-rape.

He left. I called the police. I sat with her until they arrived. I told her she could not have a shower. I gave evidence in court to support my friend. Mutual friends said things like, 'We will let the courts decide whose side we're on.' Parts of my statement were ruled inadmissible because they were prejudicial to the defendant. It was prejudicial to the defence against the charges that he had raped one woman and that he may have tried to rape another. I know what happened because I was there, and I know that sometimes the criminal court system does not find people guilty—even if victims believe the truth of what happened to them. So when the Prime Minister goes out there and says that we will let the courts decide on a matter where a victim is just asking to be believed, then victims all across this country know that they have heard these words before.

Language really matters. It really matters to victims. Words matter. Words matter like the words of Ms Higgins: 'I woke up mid-rape, essentially. I told him to stop.' That's what Ms Higgins said. It was dismissed. It was played down. She said, 'I was made to feel like it was my problem. I was failed, repeatedly, but now I have my voice.' Some words will never leave the victims of sexual assault, the words that they said to try to make it stop, the words that they couldn't get out of their mouths. These words are burned into their brains forever.

They can hear when blame gets shifted. They can hear when accountability is avoided and they can hear when people in this place say one thing but they really mean another. The victims of sexual assault are listening very closely to the language being used in this place, and they have very trained ears. So far, this is what they have heard from the Prime Minister of this country and the Morrison government. The marches were not met with bullets. Liberal politicians are playing politics with this issue. A rape victim was referred to as a 'lying cow'.

How our parliament responds to these allegations is under scrutiny right now. Our words are being dissected, so let's not leave any words unsaid. Let's just not say sorry to victims of sexual assault. Let's not just read statistics out in this chamber. We need to find a way to say to these victims, 'This will never, ever happen to you again.

Malcolm Roberts (Queensland, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As a servant to the women, the men and the children of Queensland and Australia, I say violence is never okay. The absence of mutual respect creates space for all forms of violence to appear. At every turn, in our families, in our workplaces and in society, we can all be champions for mutual respect and self-respect, looking out for others and doing to others as we would want them to do to us. An approach that singles out only one aspect of the problem of violence will, firstly, never fix the problem and, secondly, make the work to remedy the problem divisive. There's always just a perpetrator and a victim, rather than recognising the problem is much more complex than that. These are critical relationships and the people involved need support to find a better way of doing things.

I reject Senator Rice's attempt to link gendered violence and sexual harassment to the call for an independent inquiry into the Attorney-General. Both issues must be dealt with separately. It's a desperate effort from Senator Rice to address violence by latching on to the current media furore, hoping that somehow that's the way to fix the problem of violence and harassment in our community. It's clutching at straws and greatly diminishes the genuine issues around violence, be it in the workplace, in our community or at home. We need reminding that parliament makes the laws, police enforce the laws and judges adjudicate on the law. Parliament therefore has no legitimate position to establish an independent inquiry into whether the Attorney-General ought to hold that position. That's the scope of the police, not parliamentarians.

One Nation rejects violence in any form in relationships, in families and in the workplace. We need a realistic, intelligent, determined and firm approach to addressing the violence we all know exists. We will, though, never keep the women and children safe by focusing just on them and the transgressions against them. They will become safe when we have the courage and the intelligence to deal with the whole package and all the players. These are often intimate relationships. There's much more than the violence at stake here. We will never keep the men safe, either, just by focusing on them and the abuse they suffer. We need even more courage to look beyond our biases and the stereotypes of the nurturing roles we give to women and to be honest because one in three men also suffers abuse and violence. They too deserve protection. It's a fact that we will never keep the men safe by vilifying the women and we will never keep the women safe by vilifying only the men.

It's not just up to the government to address the violence in our family units and workplaces. It's up to all of us to take responsibility for the violence and unacceptable behaviours around us. How we as parents model respectful relationships to our children is the starting point. From there, are we doing what we can when our friends are being ill-treated in relationships? In the workplace, are we standing up against those we work with when they have gone too far? How are we supporting those colleagues who have been the recipient of bad behaviour? And for those who behave badly, while it is totally unacceptable, they need support to be better versions of themselves. When we alienate the person because of their unacceptable behaviour, we give up any real opportunity to remediate the situation and we run the risk of entrenching the violence and harassment. Expecting the Prime Minister or government to fix gendered violence and sexual harassment by latching on to the current media furore is an abdication of responsibility that we all have towards each other. It's a cheap and ineffective way to address the gravely serious issue of family and workplace violence and makes things worse.

Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This motion moved by Senator Waters and the Australian Greens clearly raises a number of very important issues, as other contributors to this discussion have referred to. I also do not agree with or support joining the matters raised in relation to the Attorney-General in this motion as I do think that it diminishes addressing the other issues. I want to talk this afternoon about the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children 2010-22. It is our key strategic policy and response framework, which was established to build better coordination of long-term effort to reduce violence, including efforts to address the underlying drivers of gender based violence. We know that violence against women affects the whole community and requires a focus on primary prevention, early intervention, crisis response and recovery.

Having been in this place in 2010, when the government of then Prime Minister Julia Gillard introduced the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children 2010-22 in conjunction with the states and territories, my strong recollection of that period of time is a degree of—I won't say bipartisanship but I will say—non-partisanship across the parliament, across both chambers, across all parties and involving all members. It seems to me that a degree of that non-partisanship is diminishing in this place. As part of that national plan, since 2013 the Australian government has invested more than a billion dollars to prevent and respond to violence against women and their children. The national plan itself has a strong focus on primary prevention, stopping violence before it starts. Commonwealth direct investment in the fourth action plan, which runs until 2022, is of the sum of $340 million. It's about funding to improve frontline services to keep women and children safe, and about funding in support of prevention measures for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in particular.

We know that primary prevention works, but we also know that it takes time. It is important that it's coupled with well-coordinated responses by the Commonwealth, the states and the territories for those who have experienced violence. The funding for operations like 1800RESPECT and MensLine is providing crucial support to women and their children who are experiencing family, domestic and sexual violence, and to perpetrators who want to, and must, change their behaviour.

In the last 12 months the National Federation Reform Council has agreed on terms of reference for the Women's Safety Taskforce, under the auspices of the National Federation Reform Council. Prior to that, women's safety ministers were meeting in the context of COAG, as many will recall. Those terms of reference for the task force on women's safety, as agreed by the National Federation Reform Council, are very instructive for the way in which we work together in this country, as the states, the territories and the Commonwealth do, and usually across political divides, to address these crucial issues in reducing violence against women and their children.

The task force's work will encompass but not be limited to:

That was raised with me yesterday in this place by representatives of domestic violence prevention organisations—

I'm sure Senator Ruston made reference to the Commonwealth's, states' and territories' work together, and the funding for that, during 2020; and—

I am looking forward to the development of that national summit. It is something in which many of the stakeholders have a strong interest. We will be discussing those plans and the work of all the jurisdictions at the next meeting of women's safety ministers. Briefly, I can also advise the chamber, as I did in question time, that the government is addressing a number of the measures called for— (Time expired)

Alex Gallacher (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I listened with great interest to the contributions from Senator Payne and Senator Ruston. What was going through my mind was that they're in a fairly invidious position. They both have a level of professionalism and competency, demonstrated over a number of years in this parliament.

The first part of this urgency motion is:

The urgent need for the Morrison Government to respect the thousands of Australians who marched in the Women's March 4 Justice yesterday—

I think that's where the Morrison government has really let itself down. The Prime Minister's responses following this procession of very ugly revelations coming to light have been, in my view, quite bizarre. If I had to go back and ask my wife about a set of circumstances I'd heard about in my workplace, I'd probably end up with a thick ear. It is quite bizarre that he could come out and say publicly, 'I asked Jen, and she said, "What about our daughters?"' That is a very bizarre statement.

It doesn't get much better. The Minister for Defence had an extremely unfortunate series of explanations, equivocations and denials. Ultimately, her own office said, 'Enough is enough,' and started leaking on her. The 'lying cow' stuff is unforgivable. It is unforgivable that you run an office where that is able to happen, but it is doubly unforgivable that you can't handle it and you blame the victim. There are many good offices in this place. There are many places where people are treated with respect, where there are proper rules and where harassment in any way, shape or form is not permitted. To have the minister's office, where this person has been employed, exploit situations with vulnerable workers is a failure of leadership. It is a failure of leadership in that ministerial office.

The Prime Minister's failure to recognise it is also quite unfathomable. He has the great honour of leading this great nation. Over the years many prime ministers have been capable of it. John Howard stood in front of people and said, 'You're going to lose your guns,' because he knew it was right. Here we have a Prime Minister who says: 'The rule of law will take care of all of this. By the bye, some other thing is going to happen, and I'm not going to investigate it.' For the general public, this is very bizarre behaviour from the person they elected to lead them, to lead the nation and to show empathy and courage when it's required.

I don't think the Prime Minister has shown any empathy. He certainly hasn't shown any courage. It might have been traumatic for him to go out on the steps of parliament for the March 4 Justice. People may have heckled him. That doesn't matter. He's the Prime Minister. It's his job to lead from the front with empathy and with courage, to state the programs he has put in place and to defend his government's position. You don't say, 'You can have a private meeting with me and I'll get you a cup of earl grey tea and we'll put it all to bed,' because it's not going to bed.

This parliament is going to change. On any side of the chamber, plenty of offices with really good high standards exist. Those who transgressed should be rooted out and dispatched from this place. If you cannot provide a safe working environment for your staff, you shouldn't be here. If you need training on that, I don't know how the hell you got here. The first bit of training I had on equal opportunity and sexual harassment was at a course in 1988. This is not new stuff. You know that, if you have vulnerable employees, you need to be watchful and give guidance. You need to make sure that they're looked after. There has been a complete failure in the Minister for Defence's area to look after her workers. That is unfathomable to me. I really do think that the parliament will change for the better. The sooner it happens the better.

Lidia Thorpe (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to contribute to the discussion of this matter of incredible public importance and urgency—the safety of our women in this country. I think that's pretty important. Yesterday across the country thousands of women marched for justice. We marched outside this place, demanding change and accountability from this government, from this parliament and from this nation. We want accountability from all of the self-congratulating men who look at themselves in the mirror and tell themselves that they're good people, while defending rapists in their offices and workplaces. Yesterday we demanded the Prime Minister come out, see us, hear us all and act. Instead, he told us that we should be grateful that we weren't getting shot. Women of this country heard this. You can get raped in this very building, but the Prime Minister says that at least you won't be shot protesting about it.

The Prime Minister is wrong again. Ms Joyce Clarke, a 29-year-old mother of one and a proud Aboriginal woman, was shot in the stomach while having a mental health episode by a Western Australia police officer who is now charged with her murder. Ms Dhu died in a Western Australian police cell. One of the last things she heard as she was dying was a police sergeant, Rick Bond, whispering in her ear, 'You're a effing junkie.' Aunty Tanya Day died in a police cell in Victoria because they refused to give her the medical care she needed after Victoria Police targeted her for having a couple of drinks and then falling asleep on a train. Ms Veronica Nelson Walker cried out for help 12 times, but was ignored. She died in her cell, alone.

The list of black women who die at the hands of the state in police or prison custody just goes on and on and on. And the lists will grow longer. Despite this being the 30th anniversary of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, more and more of us are being targeted and imprisoned. Women who live with disabilities also need to be heard. Where is their voice, given that there is actually no data on our sisters experiencing violence?

And can you believe that the Victorian Labor government wants a treaty with our people, despite it being open season on our bodies? Our women are being locked up more than any other person right now in Victoria—treaty with that! Black women move through the world with two great big targets on our backs. Not only do we have to deal with the never-ending sexism as we move through the world, or even as we move through this very house; black women also have to wade through the never-ending cesspool of systemic racism. The patriarchy hates us much more, not just because we're women but because we're black women—the most underappreciated, undervalued, disrespected, neglected and targeted people in this country. And still we rise; we are strong and we are powerful. We have always been here and we'll always be here.

Yesterday was so uplifting, to see so many thousands of people, largely women, come together, united in our message that rape, sexism, violence and misogyny are not women's issues; these are issues for our entire society to reckon with. The Black Lives Matter movement is no different. We need all of us who are outraged by the continuing hurt and trauma inflicted on the First Nations people of this country—especially black women—to be part of this change. I looked out on the march yesterday and saw so many people from all walks of life who had never marched in or gone to a rally before.

We're all in this together, and I look forward to welcoming all of the thousands of women and allies who marched yesterday to our own Black Lives Matter rallies. We show up with you and we ask that you show up with us. If you'd scanned the crowd yesterday you would have seen plenty of deadly black women leading the charge. I was there with my colleagues, proud Yamatji Noongar woman Dorinda Cox and proud Wakka Wakka Wulli Wulli woman Dr Tjanara Goreng Goreng. I was also very happy to see the deadly Senator McCarthy and the member for Barton, Ms Burney, holding up our flag at the rally. Black women—we show up and we speak out! We're on the front lines of all the marches and we are some of the first to turn up for our sisters and allies. Hopefully, the Prime Minister will keep his promise and we won't get shot in the streets!

In conclusion: the biggest irony of the parliament of this country is that it is lawless. Despite the laws coming from this place, the parliament itself is absolutely lawless. The thousands of men in skinny ties and pointy shoes and their bosses who crowd these corridors act as if the rules don't apply to them. They act as if they have full permission over our bodies. If the Prime Minister was serious he would immediately, without any delay whatsoever, implement the full recommendations of the Respect@workreport by Commissioner Jenkins, not just three out of 55 recommendations—WTF, for those young people who understand what I'm talking about. I invite all of those who marched yesterday to join us at the next Black Lives Matter protests around this country, because: we fight with you; come fight with us.

Amanda Stoker (Queensland, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister to the Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The issue of violence against women and their children is persistent, it's real and it's deeply troubling. It goes to the heart of how many women in our community experience life. Women must be safe at work, at home and in their community from abuse by others. It's understandably emotional. I can see why people get distressed about it. But I want to make a sincere commitment here today to women who are dealing right now with the pain of scars—physical, mental, emotional. We hear you. We value you. And we are working to make things better for you.

There's been a lot of politicking on this issue, and I think that's wrong. No party in this place has a perfect record on this most important of issues. Instead of thinking politics, we should be thinking about humanity. After all, those in glass houses shouldn't be throwing stones. But this motion talks about yesterday's march and, in a way, it shows every reservation I had about it. It draws a connection between the march and the desire, quite well held, by good people, to see an end to sexual violence and then tries to use it as an excuse to string up the Attorney-General in circumstances where he wouldn't get any of the protections we would expect—indeed demand—for any other member of our community: basic evidence, the rule of law, the presumption of innocence. These are not small things.

Senator Rice's motion calls for the Prime Minister to listen and to respect those people who marched yesterday. Well, the Prime Minister offered to meet with and listen to a delegation from the march. That invitation was refused. Minister Payne also offered to discuss the issues. That offer was refused. The Prime Minister and Minister Payne offered to sit down and engage constructively with the organisers of the march, to truly understand the issues they came to talk about and start working on solutions. Attending a march outside, with all the yelling, the cheers and the chants, wouldn't have resulted in a productive conversation. I think everyone who's serious about what we do in this place knows that's true. There is more than one way to listen, to care and to act than to go to a rally, and I have nothing but confidence in this government's sincerity to assist women dealing with this difficulty.

The motion calls for 'urgent action', so I really want to outline some of the key actions we've taken of late. Since 2013, this government has invested more than $1 billion to prevent and respond to violence against women and their children. An independent review into Commonwealth parliamentary workplaces is underway, led by Kate Jenkins, our Sex Discrimination Commissioner, and will report by November of this year. We've established 24/7 support services for staff, past or present, in any area, for any party. Stephanie Foster, the Deputy Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, is working with the Prime Minister right now on making sure we can drive cultural change.

There's been a lot of talk about the Respect@work report, and I'm proud to say that's become my responsibility. Already this government has acted upon nine—some people in this place say three, but it's nine—recommendations of the Respect@work report, including, I'm proud to say, the establishment of the Respect@Work Council, and it has its first meeting this Friday. It will be leading the implementation of this report. We've funded the establishment of online platforms, training and education resources to provide the materials that are needed for employers and employees to know how to get the justice, safety and respect that they should have in their workplaces. We are working through every single one of the remaining recommendations diligently, in partnership with government, in partnership with the private sector, to make sure we leave no stone unturned. And we took an active role in developing and ratifying the ILO's convention on eliminating violence and harassment. (Time expired)

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

Wendy Askew (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to add my voice in relation to the matters raised by Senator Rice following yesterday's March 4 Justice. Senator Rice's motion covers a number of issues, so I intend to respond to each separately to ensure these important topics are not confused.

I'll start with respecting the thousands of Australians who participated in March 4 Justice, both here in Canberra and around the country. I attended yesterday's rally, along with a number of my coalition colleagues, as I believe everyone deserves to feel safe and supported in their workplace. That includes right here in our workplace, Parliament House. I also firmly support everyone's right to be heard and to protest against injustice. I must admit, however, that I have been disappointed with the way the important issue of workplace safety has been conflated with other matters. Minister Payne stated yesterday that March 4 Justice was an exercise in open democracy. That is true and it is something we can confidently and faithfully do here in Australia, and I acknowledge everyone who joined the events across the country to have their say. All Australian workplaces, including Parliament House, should be safe for all who work in them. This should not be politicised, and it must be the responsibility of all who work there, regardless of gender, to work together to provide that safety.

As you're aware, Madam Acting Deputy President O'Neill, and as mentioned earlier by Senator Stoker, over recent weeks the government has taken a number of steps to address the concerns raised by current and former staff and by parliamentarians. These include the establishment of an independent and confidential 24/7 telephone service to support current and former Commonwealth ministerial, parliamentary and electorate office staff and those who have experienced serious incidents in any Commonwealth parliamentary workplace and the announcement of an independent review into Commonwealth parliamentary workplaces, to be led by the Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Kate Jenkins. The Deputy Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Stephanie Foster, will assist and advise the Prime Minister on how to improve processes to support people, in particular staff, when serious incidents arise.

On the matter of ending gendered violence and sexual harassment, you'll recall that I asked the Minister for Families and Social Services about this topic in Senate question time yesterday. As part of the national plan outlined earlier by the Minister for Women, the third stage of the Australian government's Stop it at the Start campaign was launched last week to coincide with International Women's Day. Stop it at the Start aims to prevent family and domestic violence against women and their children. Ads for the third phase of the campaign began airing on national television on Sunday night. This is one of the several measures we have introduced to ensure members of the public have the tools and the confidence to call out disrespectful behaviour when they see it. Stop it at the Start challenges disrespectful attitudes and behaviours that can often be learnt in childhood and can escalate into violence if such behaviours are left unchecked. We're asking Australians to speak up if they see disrespectful behaviour. We want people to unmute themselves. Do not ignore disrespectful behaviour and definitely do not excuse it. Speak up and call out disrespectful behaviour.

Research shows that four out of five Australians agree that violence against women is driven by disrespectful behaviour. We all have a role to play in making sure that every one of us feels safe. This can be achieved by taking small steps and showing respect whenever we have the opportunity. As Senator Ruston said yesterday, we know that not all disrespectful behaviour results in violence, but all violence has started with disrespectful behaviour. Early intervention is key to making sure that all Australians feel safe in their own homes, their workplaces, their communities and online.

In relation to the Attorney-General, it has already been noted that it would not be appropriate to hold an inquiry because New South Wales police have closed the matter. Australian law enforcement agencies are responsible for investigating criminal matters. Under our rule of law, the presumption of innocence applies to all of us, regardless of the position we hold. It is up to law enforcement agencies and courts to determine such issues, not the parliament.

Finally, as we have dealt with matters relating to domestic violence, sexual assault and situations where people feel unsafe, I think it pertinent to end this debate with this: if anyone listening to the contributions today is impacted by sexual assault or by domestic or family violence, please call 1800RESPECT on 1800737732 or visit 1800respect.org.au. It is so important to reach out. We all deserve to feel comfortable and safe at work, at home and within our community. (Time expired)

Question agreed to.