Chris Bowen (McMahon, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Prime Minister, the global thalidomide disaster meant that babies were born with injuries including hearing loss, shortened limbs, loss of sight and missing limbs. There are now about 130 Australian survivors, including Lisa McManus, who is today pleading with the government to respond to the parliamentary report into Australia's thalidomide tragedy before more survivors die. Why hasn't the Prime Minister responded to this report, which was handed down in March last year?

Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm actually very pleased to receive this question. It's a matter of extreme importance. No government in the last 50 years has taken it as seriously as us. Those Australians who suffered from thalidomide and all of the consequences were given a grave injustice. On my watch, in my time, on our watch, in our time, it is our goal to do what no government has previously done, and that is to ensure that there is justice, that there is an apology, that there is vindication and that there is support going forward. I heard an interjection from the member for Maribyrnong. This was an issue he raised before the election but for which he did not provision at the election.

Having said that, we are now working very carefully through a once-in-a-generation response to an issue which has not been dealt with previously by any Australian government in any systemic fashion over 50 years. We will provide that response in a way that no other government has ever done. As I said, I note that, given the opportunity to make a provision for this, the opposition did not, the member for Maribyrnong as leader did not and the shadow minister as shadow Treasurer did not. But we will take steps to do what no government has ever done, and we are working through that calmly and carefully and appropriately to deliver justice to those thalidomide victims, who have never before been given that justice.