David Littleproud (Maranoa, National Party, Shadow Minister for Agriculture) Share this | Hansard source

What have we got to lose? What do we have to lose, to shine a light on Australia's most vulnerable? It's those young children in Indigenous and remote communities who are far away from the spotlight on those who live in the towns that we are living in. What have we got to lose to shine a light and to understand the extent of the problem?

There have been mistakes on both sides of the House in the past in dealing with this, but there was courage and conviction from Julia Gillard when she was Prime Minister. She had the courage of her convictions in starting the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. That changed lives. She had the courage and conviction to stand in this parliament and, in a bipartisan way, we brought forward the changes to those people's lives—people who were neglected and who a light wasn't shone on. Why wouldn't we do that for those who are the furthest away?

We have looked at this through the lens of the Northern Territory—through the Little children are sacred report in 2007. It said:

The classic indicia of children likely to suffer neglect, abuse and/or sexual abuse are, unfortunately, particularly apparent in Aboriginal communities. Family dysfunctionality, as a catch-all phrase, reflects and encompasses problems of alcohol and drug abuse, poverty, housing shortages, unemployment and the like. All of these issues exist in many Aboriginal communities

Proudly, we elected 11 Indigenous Australians to this parliament at the last election. One of those has come with the lived experience of living in Central Australia, representing the communities where many of these abhorrent acts take place. But Senator Nampijinpa Price's lived experience is different to that of many others. That's because these abhorrent acts took place among her family members. Senator Price had the courage of her convictions to give those victims—not just her family members—a voice in this place. It's a voice to come forward and look for a better way from something that is so abhorrent.

When her own niece was a victim of this type of abuse in the past, then that's the lived experience that this place should listen to. That's the lived experience we should learn from, to understand the uniqueness of the nature of these communities—not just where Senator Nampijinpa Price comes from but from the vast communities across the Northern Territory and Western Australia where this abhorrent abuse takes place. Why wouldn't we give them that voice? Why wouldn't we understand the extent of the symptoms and causes, which we can try—as legislators—to take our responsibility for? It's our responsibility because of the privilege we've been given to sit in this place to change the lives of Australians, no matter their postcode. Why wouldn't we take that opportunity for the seriousness of the nature of what is before us?

Why wouldn't we take our duty to our fellow Australians seriously enough that we would reach across the aisle, particularly when on Saturday night we were all given a message. We were all given a message by the Australian people, whether they voted yes or no. It was to get on with the job of making sure that, where there is disadvantage, we fix it. There have been mistakes from both sides for generations. We've made inroads in many parts of this country. But where we haven't is in those isolated parts of this country where the transparency isn't as great. So why wouldn't we do something different—something practical that shines a light on an abhorrent act that none of us, in this chamber or the other, can support? Why wouldn't we do everything we can to ensure this never happens again?

Politics aside, this is an opportunity to take the message from the Australian people, cast through their ballots—the most powerful message they can send to this place—and, as legislators, to come together and do what's right. And this is what's right. This is the right thing to do. This is the opportunity that very few are given because they don't have the opportunity to stand in this place where I am and to make a difference. Don't let that opportunity pass us. There's too much at stake. There's too much that's been lost, but there's so much that could be gained.

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