Julian Hill (Bruce, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I wish to congratulate Mr Ray Prosser on his 90th birthday. I dropped in yesterday to Ray's party on the way to the airport. It's a milestone worth celebrating for anyone. And as I said to the guests there, it is also better than the alternative. But Ray is also a social warrior and a national legend. You can find his photo on the front of the brochure of CLAN, Care Leavers Australasia Network. Ray had the courage to stand up a few years ago and tell his story to the royal commission into institutional sexual abuse. He'd never told his wife of 40 years that he was raped as a boy at the age of 10 when in the care of the Salvation Army. He did this to help others, through CLAN, and also to fight for justice.

We may too easily forget that before the royal commission there was so much stigma in society in actually standing up and telling these stories. Ray and those at his gathering asked me to raise with this House and again call on the government and the Prime Minister to do the right thing. They're still waiting for redress. Survivors have waited decades. They want acknowledgment, recognition and an apology but most of all justice. It was remarked that there are much better and more important things to spend $122 million on than an opinion survey on marriage equality when survivors like Ray are waiting for justice. Family is what you make of it. They are those who show you love and support and accept you, warts and all. The Prime Minister needs to do better by Ray.