Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I've just returned from the front lawns of Parliament House, where tens of thousands of Australian women and girls are gathered in a march for justice, in the hope that this parliament—those of us who sit in power in this House—might listen, that we might hear and that we might have some empathy for the messages being sent loud and clear to those that sit in this place.

Women won't be silenced in Australia. We want to be safe. We actually want a safe workplace to come to, wherever we live, whatever job we do. We want to be able to go out at night, we want to be able to wear what we choose and we want to be able to conduct ourselves in the way that men in this country take for granted each and every day. We need a Prime Minister now that can actually listen. We need a Prime Minister that would confront this issue head on, not hide in his office, too busy to go out and meet women on his doorstep.

I want to pay tribute today to every woman who stood up around the country. I want to pay tribute to the women and girls in my home town of Newcastle that are out marching today and to every brave woman who has shared her story. This trauma cannot count for nothing. You must act and you must act now. (Time expired)

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