Nigel Scullion (NT, Country Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to Senator Evans, the Minister representing the Prime Minister. Does the minister agree that one child sexually abused is one child too many? If so, will the minister now repudiate the comments made by Labor Senator Crossin when she said in relation to the number of children saved from sexual abuse by the coalition’s Northern Territory intervention:

... when you have only 50 ... we really need to redefine what we are trying to achieve through this intervention ...

Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Scullion for the question, although I do not think it does him much credit.

Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

That’s outrageous!

Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I do not know of any senator in this place, Senator Abetz, including you, who supports child abuse or is not committed to fighting child abuse with every measure available to federal government. I think an attempt to score some sort of political point by trying to make some sort of allegation that Senator Crossin is not committed to the fight against child abuse, as I say, does you no credit. Senator Crossin has had a long interest not only in Indigenous affairs but in children’s services, and she has followed those interests throughout her career in the Senate.

What you do know, Senator Scullion, and what the Senate knows is that there was bipartisan support for the Northern Territory intervention. The Labor side of politics, prior to the last election, offered bipartisan support to the then Howard government immediately it came up with its plan to intervene in the Northern Territory to try and combat child abuse. We offered total bipartisan support immediately and we supported you through all the measures aimed at intervening.

Senator Crossin has been part of that Labor commitment to combat child abuse in the Northern Territory, and when we took government we continued that plan. There have been a couple of minor adjustments, but in large part the intervention has proceeded along the same lines. To come into this Senate and somehow try to take one part of one comment that the senator may or may not have made—I have not actually seen the comments that you refer to, and I would like to see them before I pass any judgement on the veracity of what you have said—I think does the opposition no credit.

What we have seen in the last few days is the Liberal opposition in the Senate take the low road. We saw it yesterday with Senator Ronaldson. He made accusations in this place that the Liberal Party were not prepared to make in the House of Representatives. That is the amount of bottle they had—they were not prepared to carry their allegations against a Labor member of the House of Representatives there. They did not have the bottle.

Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I rise on a point of order. The Leader of the Government’s embarrassing discourse at the moment shows that he is unable to answer the particular allegation put to him. The point of order is clearly on relevance. The relevance is what Senator Crossin said so disgracefully yesterday. What Senator Ronaldson may have asked yesterday—which was a very good question, might I add—is completely irrelevant.

Alan Ferguson (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Senator Abetz, you are starting to debate the point of order. You made your point about relevance. The question was broad and I believe that the minister is within his rights in answering the question in the manner that he sees fit.

Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I note the only embarrassment to this chamber is the behaviour of some of those Liberal senators as they become accustomed to opposition.

Alan Ferguson (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would like you to come back to the question, Senator Evans.

Nick Minchin (SA, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Minchin interjecting—

Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Minchin, I do not know whether you have taken any interest in question time tactics, but obviously you have to take responsibility for this approach.

Alan Ferguson (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Senator Evans, you will answer the question and not comment on other matters.

Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr President. As I say, I do not think this is a very constructive road for the senator to go down. As I say, Senator Crossin has a long commitment to Indigenous people in the Northern Territory and to children in the Northern Territory and works extremely hard at promoting their interests. I think to come into the chamber and allege that somehow she is not serious about tackling child abuse does Senator Scullion no credit. I know Senator Crossin participated in the petrol sniffing inquiry and in a whole range of inquiries looking at protecting and enhancing the opportunities for Indigenous children. The Labor government has committed to a whole range of initiatives, including early intervention initiatives and preschool intervention, to provide better opportunities and protections for Indigenous children. We will continue the Northern Territory intervention. We will continue the commitment to assisting Indigenous children. We had bipartisan support; I hope this is not a sign that Senator Scullion is retreating from what we thought was a very important bipartisan measure.

Nigel Scullion (NT, Country Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. I accept from the Leader of the Government that sometimes these quotes are taken out of context, and I was also surprised to read this. Perhaps I should just provide Senator Evans with the full quote. This is from Hansard:

So the dramas and the charades and the attention that was sought by the previous government in relation to child sexual abuse and child neglect, I believe, were severely overstated. I am not denying they are there, but when you have only 50 out of 6,244, we really need to redefine what we are trying to achieve through this intervention ...

In light of this disturbing view within the government ranks, will the minister now guarantee the government will not in any way further water down the Northern Territory intervention and repudiate the remarks of the senator?

Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Scullion for the supplementary question. It seems to me that the debate that was occurring was about whether or not we have the evidence and what we are finding in the intervention in the Northern Territory. One of the things that the Labor government has committed to is a review, 12 months after the intervention, to assess the evidence. I was one of those at the estimates hearing—Senator Scullion, I do not know whether you were there—when people in charge of the intervention talked about their attempt to build better evidence of what is occurring on the ground: the amount of sexual abuse, who is being abused and how we combat those things. They are important public policy issues, and I think to take us down this road is really quite disgraceful. The Northern Territory intervention is committed to by the Labor government. We will continue the intervention, and all Labor senators will give their best efforts to ensure its success.