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

I seek leave to move a motion relating to missing and murdered First Nations women and children, as circulated in the chamber.

Leave not granted.

Pursuant to contingent notice of motion standing in the name of Senator Waters, I move:

That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent Senator Waters moving a motion to provide for the consideration of a matter, namely a motion to give precedence to a motion relating to missing and murdered First Nations women and children.

It is now time to declare that this is a national emergency, regarding not just missing but disappeared and abducted and murdered and slaughtered First Nations women and children in this country. Last week in this chamber, there was a report that was tabled by the opposition chair, Paul Scarr, on Thursday at four o'clock, when everybody was on a plane and everyone had decided to go home, and there was no media watching. That was systematically done to not bring attention to this issue, to not make it a priority for this government—after women and children and men in this country have marched for the last few months, with What Were You Wearing?, to bring attention to this national emergency.

Off the back of this report, we see First Nations women and children still dying in this country; we see them still being overpoliced and undersupported; we see them still having systems weaponised against them and being wrongly identified as perpetrators in this country. They are left alone—alone—to fight a system. These women are terrified to ask for help in this country—with their kids in tow, sometimes—because of the violence they are being presented with.

Yesterday, I sat at the National Press Club and listened to the Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commissioner, with, apart for me and Senator Waters, absolute silence from other politicians in this place. We didn't even have the shadow minister for child protection and family violence turn up. It was Ms Ley and the assistant minister, Justine Elliot, who turned up. Commissioner Cronin talked about the human aspect of this—talked through why we should listen to people with lived experience. But, as the only black woman sitting on that committee, I was silenced. I was silenced in putting forward the 13 Greens recommendations that were ignored by this committee.

Yesterday Commissioner Cronin drew my attention to the really important legacy of this. A really prominent advocate in Central Australia, Shirleen Campbell, said: 'Don't just think that we are a statistic—that we are a number. We are humans.' Guess what? In this report, they failed to even put a national dashboard in place. They are not even counting the dead black women and children in this country, and it's bloody disgraceful. You know what's worse? It's that the ministers responsible for this area didn't even put out a press release. They didn't even turn up and have been radio silent ever since this report came down. It is disgraceful.

The magnitude of this problem is not just about that. It is the lack of attention to the systemic racism. We have people in this chamber going out and talking about cultural bias. Our people are experiencing systemic and structural racism, and this report details all of those harrowing cases. Every person on that committee said how they were affected and how they were moved. Guess what? You've got the power in this country to make change, and you're doing nothing about it. The outrage should be there, and it's not. There is none. No mainstream media outlet took the opportunity to report on this. Six outlets reported about this report, and most of them were the black women in the media.

It is absolutely disgraceful, and it gets worse. In Victoria this fortnight, they are winding back the commitment that they had about raising the age of criminal responsibility to 14. We've got senior police in this country running around saying, 'We should lower the age of criminal responsibility to five.' They're talking about my future grandchildren and my nieces and my nephews, and if you can sit in this place and give power to people that think that five-year-olds are criminally responsible, we have serious problems.

This government talks a big game about closing the gap. Target 13 doesn't even have any data attached to it. We don't even know the magnitude of the problem, but they want to stand back and hand out the money. Guess what? Your national dashboard is what we need in order to understand the magnitude of this problem. We cannot continue to sit by. We must do better in this place. We are demanding and we are calling on this government to not only urgently enact all of the recommendations that were put by the Greens but also to have no more excuses. It's time for action.

Malarndirri McCarthy (NT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Indigenous Australians) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I refer to the motion, which I've only just received, by Senator Cox. I certainly appreciate the incredible passion that Senator Cox brings to this debate and the fact that Senator Cox has championed this for three years, from the moment she entered the parliament. I have always had that admiration for Senator Cox in regard to that. There is no doubt, certainly from the government and from me in the role that I have as Minister for Indigenous Australians, that this is a critical report. I am very, very grateful to the parliament and for the work that has been done. I will look very closely at the recommendations, along with my colleagues, in terms of what we can do and the issues that Senator Cox has raised. There is no doubt, for First Nations people and families across this country, that this does hit home. The fact that we've had so many women and so many of our children who are continually removed, who are certainly missing and who have been murdered, and the impact that it has on each one of us as First Nations women—not only across the country but in this parliament—hit home. But I alert the Senate that there is also a process here. To bring this in during the last five minutes, knowing that there is an opportunity to actually achieve some really strong and good outcomes in terms of this report—I would just urge the Senate to vote no because we need the time.

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

Really, Malarndirri? How embarrassing.

Malarndirri McCarthy (NT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Indigenous Australians) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There's no embarrassment, Senator Cox. There is no embarrassment whatsoever. We want to do this properly, Senator Cox, and we want to make sure that we have the appropriate way of doing it through the funding that should be provided to our legal services, to our women's centres, to our family organisations. This report requires that. If it took three years to be able to listen to the stories of people, I'm sure more than a week is needed to have a look at this report and deal with it respectfully and thoroughly. Bringing your recommendations in here in the last five minutes—

Penny Allman-Payne (Queensland, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator, could you resume your seat. I would just remind all senators that interjections are disorderly. Senator McCarthy.

Malarndirri McCarthy (NT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Indigenous Australians) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm disappointed that this has been put before the Senate in a manner that I find is completely disrespectful for the process that we are trying to do in the right way. Sending a tone throughout this country that this parliament does not care is actually irresponsible and reprehensible. We will not support this motion as it currently stands at this particular point in time.

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

How embarrassing for her.

Malarndirri McCarthy (NT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Indigenous Australians) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

And there is no embarrassment, just deep disappointment, Senator Cox. I move:

That the question be now put.

Penny Allman-Payne (Queensland, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The question is that the question be put.

Penny Allman-Payne (Queensland, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The question is that the suspension motion moved by Senator Cox be agreed to.