Kelly O'Dwyer (Higgins, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Listening to so many excellent and thoughtful first speeches in the parliament over the last week, I reflected on those things that unite us across this chamber rather than divide us. Each person who comes to this place, I believe, comes with a willingness to serve their local community. They come wanting to stand for the values that have shaped them and for their vision of a better Australia. It gave me pause to reflect on my own first speech delivered more than three years ago where I concluded, 'I will never forget that politics is about people and that people can make a difference.'

Tonight, I want to talk about three people who, in their own way, have made a difference to the lives of Victorians for the better. The first is my father, Dan O'Dwyer. As a young solicitor, my father set up a family and criminal law practice in Dandenong with my mother. It exposed him to the need to speak for those who have no voice and to care for those who cannot care for themselves—our most precious asset, and our most vulnerable—our children. He established a working unit of the Children's Protection Society in the Western Port region and was its first chairman. It was the biggest branch in Victoria with the heaviest workload. It employed child protection workers and had the responsibility to intervene and care for children in cases of abuse and neglect in the years before the Department of Human Services took over this role.

The other two people that I want to mention tonight, who have stood up for the protection of our children, are my friends and state colleagues for the Southern Metropolitan Region in Victoria, Ms Georgie Crozier, Parliamentary Secretary for Health, and Mrs Andrea Coote, Parliamentary Secretary for Families and Community Services. Georgie recently chaired the Family and Community Development Committee's inquiry into the handling of child abuse by religious and other non-government organisations, and Andrea was a member of her committee. Last week they delivered their report titled Betrayal of Trust to the Victorian parliament. They, and other committee members, considered a huge weight of evidence—more than 578 submissions—and held 162 hearings.

What they found—in the words of the chairman—was that 'children were betrayed by trusted figures in organisations of high standing and suffered unimaginable harm. Parents of these children experienced a betrayal beyond comprehension, and the community was betrayed by the failure of organisations to protect children in their care.'

Sadly, revelations of crimes against children are not new. And it is also true that crimes against children are not confined to religious organisations or non-government institutions that were the focus of the report. However, what the report did find was, in my view, damning. It found against religious institutions that put the protection of their reputation and finances above the protection of children, allowing in some instances abusers to keep abusing without sanction. It is almost too terrible to contemplate.

The report makes a number of sensible recommendations in particular regarding the reform of criminal law, access to civil litigation and the creation of an independent assessor of claims. These are clear, achievable and necessary recommendations and should be implemented.

In November 2012, the now Prime Minister urged the then Prime Minister to support a royal commission to investigate the sexual abuse of children. He stated that 'as a community we must have zero tolerance for the sexual abuse of children.' How right he is. The Victorian inquiry will be a vital tool in the federal royal commission. I commend it to the House, as I do the work done by so many in our community to protect our nations greatest asset: our children.

Finally, let me conclude with the words of the late and great Martin Luther King Jr. 'Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.'

The House adjourned at 21:30