Claire Moore's recent appearances (OpenAustralia.org)
Valedictory | Parliamentary Representation | Senate debates
I just want to put on record that every time I've been called to speak in this place by any President or Deputy President I've always had a special shiver, and that shiver is with me tonight. As...
I just want to put on record that every time I've been called to speak in this place by any President or Deputy President I've always had a special shiver, and that shiver is with me tonight. As I did with my first speech, I begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of this land then paying my respects to elders of all cultures. The Labor senators who came here in 2001—Ruth Webber, Linda Kirk, Ursula Stephens, Gavin Marshall and Penny Wong—had the special privilege of having an introduction session with the inimitable John Faulkner and Robert Ray. During that session we were advised—I remember this so clearly—that the speeches that would be most remembered about most of us in this place would probably be the first one and those made about us after we're dead. That was possibly not particularly comforting for those who were terrified about our looming first speeches but it makes me a little bit more confident about this one tonight. I was not particularly keen to make this speech this evening but I decided, after some thought, that what I wanted to do was put on record my thankyous to so many people who have meant so much to me and who have made this experience great. When that initial grouping got together, that was our first opportunity to meet the amazing range of people who care so much about this place, our system and this marvellous building and who wrap services around us to ensure that we can do our job as well as we can and be part of this continuing legacy of the Senate, the parliament and our history. In that time they made me aware that probably nothing I personally could do would bring down this Senate. That was a comfort: as the Senate has continued since 1901—so far, so good. I want to start by thanking Richard and the Clerk team. You follow on from the most amazing people. When we were first here, I was given so much support and encouragement by people like Harry Evans—wonderful—Anne Lynch and Rosemary Laing. I recently was talking with Rosemary and I said that I lived in this place to ensure that she never frowned at something I did or said. She, as always, was inscrutable and gave me the belief that I had not done so. I hope that was genuine. I also want to remember the remarkable Cleaver Elliott. In my time, his passion, commitment, knowledge and humour gave me and so many other people such a great understanding of the importance of what we do and how we can do it better. He took this knowledge not just to our parliaments but to parliaments across the Pacific, and there are still people who talk about the training sessions that Cleaver did in other parliaments that make me proud not just of him but of our whole system. I pressed twice to get more water tonight just so I could see the attendants who look after us so well in this place again. Thank you, John, so much. John, Bryan, Adrienne, Rosemary, and Fiona and all those who've gone before you, I thank you for your unstinting help, greetings and positive nature. Whether it's 9:00 in the morning or 2:30 in the morning, they never fail to make us feel welcome and to let us know they're around here looking after us. Thank you so much to all of you. To Hansard, all of you, everyone in Hansard: I apologise for my appalling notes. I know they're quite well known in the Hansard area and they won't be any better this evening either. I also thank you for exposing my overuse of the meaningless adverb 'actually'. Just scrub it out every time I say 'actually'—that's worked so far so good. To Broadcasting: I apologise for my noisy jewellery. I know it has caused trouble in the past and people know when I'm speaking. It's a bit like having a cat with a bell on it—they know when I'm about to speak. I do apologise because I realise over the years that I tend to talk to you. When I'm talking in this place, I know you're supposed to speak to the President but I find when I'm speaking that I'm inevitably talking to Broadcasting. I apologise and I hope you haven't found it too threatening. To all the people in Parliamentary Services here and in Brisbane, thank you so much. Our team has been served so well by your patience, your consideration and also your effort. You really cared about the services you were providing to us—the people who helped us in Brisbane particularly—so thank you so much. There have been some moves and so on but you've always been great, so I wanted to say thank you and I will be seeing you before I leave. To 2020: thank you for your patience, understanding and inevitable nonjudgement. Whenever I have dealt with you, it's been fantastic. To the Comcar drivers, wherever you are, I'm not sure whether people truly understand the value of your service until they no longer have that service—that's what I've heard from other people. Thank you for the courtesy, the absolute certainty that we're going to be looked after and for the knowledge that, again, people care. The team in Brisbane can stop having that contest about whether they will get there before I'm waiting for them. It's been going on for years and I know it's been looked at but I like to be early, at least to start with—that's important. To the security people, you are always helpful, always smiling, making everyone feel welcome. For those of us who have had the wonderful opportunity to travel, Colin and Onu in the international branch have been there for us and have worked miracles when there have been some very tight times. Thank you so much. And, Colin, you will have to find more people to come to those lunches now at the last moment. Thank you for the opportunities. To the people in the gym, thank you. There are some people here who know about the wonderful services of the gym. I know there are people who have never seen where it is. If you do get the opportunity, pop down and see them; it's usually not fatal. To Dom and Bridget and the whole team at Aussies: If there is one thing that brings unity to this parliament, it is Aussies. They absolutely care for us, and the place offers us welcome all the time. Thank you so much. We will miss you. Also, to the dining room staff and all the people who serve at so many of our functions, thank you. It often strikes me in this place how you will see people serving at breakfast early in the morning and then you see the same people serving at late-night functions on the same day. I think we all benefit from the extent of their service, their work and their professionalism. I really want to put on record how much I care for them and for the cleaners in this place—absolutely. We see them, we smile at them. Their work is exceptionally caring and professional, and they're part of this building. They're part of a team that lives here. Thank you so much. I have probably forgotten people, but I will just put on record that we all know that you care for this place and that you've extended that care to each of us—so thank you very much. I particularly want to thank all the people who have made submissions and provided evidence to Senate and other parliamentary committees. For me, our committee system is the heart of our Senate. We have extraordinary opportunities to hear from people who care deeply about issues which affect them. I've been shocked, angered, inspired, challenged and brought to tears sometimes by the contributions to our committees. Each of those red and white books that we all have in our libraries, sometimes way too many, reflects important issues that people have felt the confidence and the trust to bring to us, because they wanted their parliament, their Senate, to hear what was important and how they can make changes to policy—and they work. So many amazing policies, so many programs, so many royal commissions, have come from the work of the committees in our Senate. I think it's important that we know that that system is there, that we value it as it should be valued and that we use it to its best extent. It is what I always say makes our Senate special. Committees also provide us the opportunity to work together as a Senate, regardless of which party we come from and regardless of what we think we know about an issue. It's our chance to work together as a committee, to travel together, to get to know more about each other—which is sometimes a little difficult. It also provides real friendships. I have to say that, through my work on a number of committees, I've established friendships with senators from across this place, which remain very true and very special for me. Our committee process also gives us the opportunity to make friendships and connections with people who have come to talk with us. Through many of the committees on which I've worked, I now have people whom I consider friends, who come to me with their purposes and their causes and who stay in contact. I can't name them all; it would be inappropriate. But I think I do have to mention at least Leonie Sheedy and the amazing CLAN group, whom we got to know through important committees around the forgotten Australians—those forgotten Australians who will never be forgotten anymore. We made that promise to them. There are also people in the mental health area. We had an extraordinary committee inquiry into Australia's mental health many years ago. Those connections are still there—the advocates, the professionals, the people who care. It's hard to pick out particular ones, but I want to put on record this evening that the experience many of us in this place had working on issues around women's gynaecological cancer changed lives. We had the opportunity to work with people who were looking at their own condition and at their own death in many ways but who were still prepared to come and share, to ask and to express needs that we could actually then give back in policy. The increased focus on ovarian cancer and other forms of gynaecological cancer which are now active in Cancer Australia came directly from that committee. The unity that we had in the parliament in supporting that issue and the royal commissions will always be very special moments for me. Something we all know when talking about the committees is that we could not operate without the secretariats. Those men and women who give so much to keep these committees operating are really the backbone. Over the years, I have relied on so many and worked with them, sometimes with extraordinary expectations from ministers in terms of the deadlines put on the committee work. We need to treasure those people and to remind them constantly of the good work they do. I think it is something we all can share. I also want to thank the governments who've been strong enough to say sorry. There was the time when my friend Kevin Rudd said sorry to Indigenous Australians in this place. I felt that this building actually throbbed. I felt the earth move when that expression was made, across not just this place but the whole of our nation. That apology, that identification that we had people in our nation who had been wronged, Indigenous people who had been wronged, and that the government—our government, our Prime Minister—on behalf of each of us was prepared to stand up and say sorry was extraordinarily special, and it continues to be important. That experience has been had three more times, and I hope it will continue to happen. For the people who were in institutional care, Kevin, again, was the Prime Minister of the day. It took a bit of encouragement, because he and other people were concerned about whether he would be known just for saying sorry. But I think the importance was known by the whole of the parliament—that when you have a wrong you need to apologise. From the experiences that we heard, again through the committee system, we have now made an apology to the people who were in institutional care, which continues to remain so important to them. Then again, a few years later, we had the forced adoptions inquiry. We met women and their children and their families who were damaged by governments in Australia—some of them thought they were doing the right thing, but nonetheless lives were damaged—and again our parliament, our government, decided that this was such a great wrong that we needed to say sorry. I, and people who have met those people, continue to understand how important that experience was. So I want to thank governments that are strong enough to say sorry. Very recently Prime Minister Morrison actually took the apology statement to people who had been identified through the royal commission process as having suffered sexual abuse in institutions. Again, you could feel the way that the parliament was connecting with people, with our community, and I think that's what makes us strong. So thank you to those governments who knew that they could say they were sorry. I want to say thank you to my party, the Australian Labor Party, and particularly to the members of the Queensland branch who have given me the opportunity to serve as a Queensland senator in this place. When you actually make that oath and sign those amazingly large and important historical documents that sit there when new senators come on, it is a contract. It is a position of trust. I really want to thank the people in the Queensland party who gave me this chance and who felt that I was serving them well. I love my state, and I've had the great opportunity, basically through this job, of meeting many people from all parts of Queensland. In fact, that extends to all parts of the nation. I would like to acknowledge the school hall program, which meant many of us got a chance to go to a lot of places that we may not have known existed before. I went to a school that had five pupils, who had not had a library and who had not had a hall. I went to very large schools. It was a wonderful experience to be there and be part of that whole process, so thank you to the party. I also want to particularly thank the party for a special joy that I've had in this parliament, which was representing the party on two national institutions. The National Archives has an advisory council by legislation, including members of parliament. The National Archives provides the memory of our nation, collecting and preserving Australian government records that reflect our history and identity. So to David Fricker, who is the director-general, and Denver Beanland, my mate from Queensland who's the chair of the council: thank you so much for the opportunity to serve on that council. It is important, and I really think, again, it's the history of our nation. Another special joy—I must have been standing in the right place that day—was that I also got appointed to the National Library Council. Our National Library is an absolute treasure. It's so close, and yet I know people in this place may not have got there. So please take the opportunity to visit the Library and the Archives. The Library, by its legislation, is responsible under the act for maintaining and developing a national library collection of material, including a comprehensive collection of material relating to Australia and its people. That's us. So take the opportunity to go to the Library and learn more about the wonderful services that they have. To Dr Marie-Louise Ayres, who's the current national librarian, and Dr Brett Mason, who is now the CEO of the advisory council: thank you as well for that chance to serve with you. I want to also thank the party for the wonderful chance in the last two parliaments to serve as a shadow minister. It wasn't my goal. It was not something that I had planned to do, but it was a wonderful chance to look after two particular portfolios that mean so much to me. One was as the shadow minister for women for disability and careers—my friend Carol Brown now works in the disability and careers area—and the other one, the one that I'm doing in this parliament, is as the shadow minister for international development and the pacific. I cherish the opportunities I've had to work in this space and the people I've had the chance to meet. There are so many advocates and NGOs and people who care about all these areas, but I want to particularly mention the Parliamentary Group on Population and Development, which I've mentioned many times in speeches in this place. That group—I can see people who've been on the group nodding—encapsulates the issues of international development, the Pacific, women, disabilities and our whole focus as parliamentarians working on developing policy in this area. I really encourage parliamentarians in the next parliament to work on this cross-party committee, which is so important to our area. I couldn't leave this area without giving a little nudge to Penny and her office, who've done work in this space and provided opportunities. I'll also mention the Sustainable Development Goals. I will not go into a long rant on that. I've done that many times before, and I assure you I will continue to do it. But, if you look at what the SDGs talk about, it's what we need: we need to work together. Mr President, I haven't got too much more. I did have a time limit, but I've noticed with interest that there's no clock moving, so that's terrifying for everybody! I'd like to acknowledge my union, the CPSU, the union that serves people who work in the public sector. I am a public servant. I have been a public servant my whole working life, just in different ways. I particularly acknowledge Bill Marklew, my good friend in Brisbane, and his team. You have been behind me, you have been my friend and you've been my support. I am a life member of that union and I will always be active. They mean a lot to me. That leads on to my absolute support and advocacy for the public sector. That's where I worked. I see public servants doing the jobs that we require of them all the time, and I look on them with respect through the Senate estimates process, which I know we love and adore—in fact, I actually do enjoy Senate estimates. I don't believe it is a gladiatorial contest; I believe it's somewhere you exchange information. When I see the work, commitment and genuine care for our society that the public service should be doing, I want to genuinely put, again, as I did in my first speech, my absolute commitment to being part of the public sector. I'll talk about my team—I can't name them all—from over the years. We've built up a bit of an alumni group of people who've survived working in my office. There are a few of them up there. There's Meredith and Monique, who are walking. It's fantastic. They have actually been great to me. I can't name them all, but they have shared the passion and they have shared the journey. I particularly want to mention Anne, who was with me from the start, from the Sunshine Coast. I actually was blessed by having two Merediths—one is with me here tonight and the other is the backbone of my office, my friend and someone with whom I work so closely and we couldn't do it without her. It has been a great privilege to work with her and also Claire. We know Claire from the Labor Party. When I was working in another position in this job, she helped me through the intricacies of the operations of the Senate and was there when I returned in shock after a heavy question time of taking points of order. She was always there ready to support me when I returned quite exhausted and deeply concerned about whether I'd done the right thing in this place, so thank you very much. I'll mention my long-term commitment to having women in parliament. I want to put on the record my thanks to EMILY's List, an organisation with which I've worked with for many years. They have been strong. They have been supportive. They work to have women in parliament, which is something we hear so much about, but, more than that, they work at inclusion in parliament so that we have people who represent their community in this place. My goal is that our parliament reflects our community. Everybody who is an Australian citizen should feel as though they can serve in parliament—really whether they want to or not. They can feel as though that option is here. We are getting better on that, but I think, as a parliament, we are seeing that we need to do that. I want to thank the wonderful people who have supported us in the whip's office. They do a great job. You and your team are exceptional. I particularly want to thank Maria, Kay and Lenny. They provide so much support to us and are always there. They always should be thanked and acknowledged. To Penny, for you and your office: it's a tough gig and the office does amazing work and is there to provide leadership and support. I want to thank my friends, who are always there. You should always have people around you who are your friends and who will tell you the truth, when you're failing as well as when you're doing well. I can't mention you all, but I particularly want to put on record Janice Mayes, my good mate, who actually told me I could do this job. I wasn't sure at the time, but she felt that was something she could tell me, in faith, that I could do. Thank you so much, Janice. Thank you to Virginia, who is always there and just makes life easier for many people by bringing her joy into their lives. For my first speech, my family sat up there and I had nieces and nephews who were very young. They are now adults with their own families. Thank you to my two sisters and their families. They have been so supportive. I'm not sure whether they always understood this process, but they have become committed and I always knew that they were right behind me. For an end, I just want to thank everyone with whom I've worked. It has been a deep joy, a pleasure and an honour. There's unfinished business, and I won't be going away. I wish to put that clearly on record. However, I want to end with just one regret. When I was sworn in and I had the kids with me, they got immense pleasure out of being in this place. One of the things they enjoyed most was running over Parliament House, throwing themselves down that wonderful green space. I have to admit that I did as well! There will be many people who will never actually know that experience, because things have moved on so much in this place that we don't have that. That is a regret to me. I'm sorry; I know the world has changed, but there was something particularly special about the openness and the welcome of the Senate that I joined, the parliament that I joined. I hope we will always keep that spirit alive, if not the ability to run over the hill. Thank you very much.
Health Care | Adjournment | Senate debates
I was just thinking that I did not understand one-fifth of what you just spoke about, Senator Fierravanti-Wells, but I will study up. I promise! Issues around appropriate access to counselling...
I was just thinking that I did not understand one-fifth of what you just spoke about, Senator Fierravanti-Wells, but I will study up. I promise! Issues around appropriate access to counselling and psychological care for people who have been impacted by life trauma have been raised in a number of Senate Standing Committee on Community Affairs inquiries over the years. You may have been part of some of those, Mr Acting Deputy President Brockman. It seems to me that we need to be very careful when promising that there will be access to appropriate care when we aren't really sure of where the services are or how they operate. I can remember—and, in this contribution, I'm going to use examples from three separate inquiries—the two community affairs committee inquiries into people who were victims of institutional care—not the royal commission into sexual abuse that we've just gone through but the original Senate community affairs committees, where we listened to evidence from a range of people who, in their childhood, had been directly impacted by horrific conditions, by treatment that did not generate love, by feelings of insecurity, by a loss of family identity and by just plain fear. These people came to tell us about these experiences. We as a committee, then as a parliament and then as a government came together to offer an official apology to these people. One of the components of that apology was that there would be an acknowledgement of their suffering and trauma by them having access to appropriate care through counselling for the extent of their lifetime. This was followed up later by the Senate inquiry that looked into the issue of forced adoption in our nation, where women had their children taken from them at birth and then had that ongoing life trauma and that sense of loss, guilt and shame that this had occurred to them. Again, through the parliamentary inquiry, we listened as they talked to us about the impact this had on them and also on the children who were taken. They also said that they had experienced issues of loss of identity and fear and insecurity, all stemming from this significant separation that occurred through our system, through government interference, through strategic processes that we now know, whilst maybe done for reasons that people can tell themselves were appropriate, were in fact illegal. We acknowledged that, we apologised and we told those people that we would be able to provide appropriate psychological counselling for them into the future. What has occurred has been a great variation of access. There has been an acknowledgement that this care should be provided—and not just any care. One of the things that came out of those inquiries was that there needed to be specialist training and specialist understanding for the professionals dealing with the people with the trauma. Consistently we're told that when people did seek out care they were even further damaged by the fact that people just did not understand the issues around the institutional care or the forced adoption, so people had to retell their stories and had the sense that the professionals with whom they were dealing didn't understand their issues and were trying to treat them within models that were not appropriate. We understood that, and the parliament indicated that there had to be special guidelines introduced and circulated that gave information to medical professionals about these issues, which had been largely unknown until the Senate inquiries brought them to public notice. But consistently we've heard back from the people who turned to us and told us their stories, and we then said that we would provide support to, who say that access to the care has been varied at best. In regional and remote areas there is absolutely no availability of the care that's required as it is within the cities. There's variation in knowledge and access, and also over the years there have been increasing out-of-pocket costs for people wanting to receive the care. By the model of medical practice and psychological medical access to the MBS, people have had excess out-of-pocket expenditure to access the treatment that we promised we would provide for them. I am very fearful that the same kinds of issues are going to be evident in what we're doing now with the redress scheme. One of the core components of the royal commission's recommendations around people who had suffered sexual assault in institutions was that they would have lifelong counselling. This lifelong counselling was going to be determined individually by people who had been harmed—about the form of counselling they would need and the access they would require. Subsequently, in the government legislation that's come forward to look at how we would implement the redress program, this has not translated into lifelong counselling. On a scale determined by the seriousness of the sexual assault that has occurred, people have access to hours of care or a lump sum so that they can seek their own care to the extent that the money holds together. Each state is looking at providing care in different ways. Some states have identified as providers, so that the form of provision of care will be linked to the current providers across the state, and people will be able to access this. Other states have chosen to go different ways, and people will be given lump sums and will be able to seek out providers themselves to provide the care they so obviously need, which has been identified by their trauma and by the circumstances and the evidence that they've provided to the royal commission and to the previous Senate inquiry. I'm deeply concerned about the access to care, about the quality of the care that's provided and about the flexibility of care, because every person is different; you cannot just state that every person will have the same response and the same need. We need flexible, personal case-based arrangements in this space, and too often this is just not available in our current system. When we raised these issues with the departments, we were told that, if the provisions of care run out, what can happen is that people can access the basic provisions under the current mental health process to access psychological services. That means, after you've been to a GP, you can access up to 10 visits in one year of care. That is not a flexible arrangement. There's also no guarantee that the providers will have the specialist knowledge that is needed for people who have the particular trauma caused by either sexual abuse, which came out during the royal commission process, or being separated from their family and being in institutions. I think, as a parliament, when we make promises that care will be available to people who've come to us with their circumstances, we should ensure that appropriate resourcing is provided and that that care is effective. I am troubled by the way the care arrangements have been defined in the redress program. In fact, the level of care is determined by how serious the alleged sexual assault was. That's a deep flaw in the process. It's something we'll have to consider because this will not go away. People will continue to need care into the future. We have said to them that we've heard and understood their pain. We have said to them that there should be care available to them. I think we have a responsibility to make sure the people we have apologised to have the care that they so desperately need.
Sustainable Development Goals | Adjournment | Senate debates
I don't know, but I don't think this is going be my last speech, as we always say in this chamber. We know it's not my first speech—you go ahead and make a speech. In this case, I'm not...
I don't know, but I don't think this is going be my last speech, as we always say in this chamber. We know it's not my first speech—you go ahead and make a speech. In this case, I'm not sure if this is going to be my last speech. If it is, I can think of no topic I would rather speak on in this place than the Sustainable Development Goals. This afternoon the Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade reported on the recent inquiry that we had on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. This inquiry was held over several months. We had over 150 submissions from the community, from individuals, to our Senate committee, because they cared about the Sustainable Development Goals, they knew what the Sustainable Development Goals were and they had hope that into the future our nation would take a strong, coordinated, effective response to these goals as part of the 2015 commitment of over 190 nations at the United Nations to implement these goals. I've spoken a number of times in this place about why I believe this is an effective framework for policy change across the globe and why it is an exceptional opportunity for people everywhere to genuinely look at that marvellous motto which is the basis of the SDGs: 'leave no-one behind'. If we could agree to look at a strategy to ensure that that particular focus is maintained across not just Australia but across the world, what a world we would have. The Sustainable Development Goals are based around five key principles: people, planet, prosperity, peace and partnership. This focuses our mind on what we believe would be a sustainable future for our world so that we will be able to work together into the future looking after the people in the world—our planet. Sustainability is very often associated particularly with the issues around environment. That is important, but it's not the only concept—it's sustainable society, sustainable community, sustainable people. We also have the issue of looking at genuine prosperity. If we look at leaving no-one behind, we must ensure that every individual and every family, no matter where they live on this planet, will have access to opportunities so they have an effective future and have hope and optimism into an agreed future. That could only happen if there is an agreement about identifying what it will take across our world to achieve peace. Most importantly, this agenda looks at developing genuine partnerships so that people will accept no-one can do this alone. If there is a commitment, it must be shared and there must be genuine partnerships. In that vein, our committee met in a number of capital cities, read the submissions and had a number of discussions with key public sector agencies. The way the Australian government has introduced the Sustainable Development Goal response is to focus through the government agencies, creating interdepartmental committees to discuss best practice to develop processes to implement the SDG agenda. Our committee, after listening to the evidence, felt that there was a need to do more. The people who came to see us put the challenge out there in the work they had done, in the commitment they had made for many years before 2015. This didn't just appear on the agenda; the SDG agenda came out of years of engagement across the globe, looking at how we could best commit to ending the poverty that was put across our world in many areas. People were not having fairness and equality. The Millennium Development Goal agenda led through this, looking at trying to reduce the level of poverty in our world. The next step was developing the SDGs, and our government was active for many years in developing this 2030 Sustainable Development Goal agenda. The government is in no way ignorant of what the intent would be, and the process was going to focus around an interdepartmental coordinated action looking at what was going to happen. We heard evidence from the departments about how they were operating but, more so, we heard evidence from people across the community who felt that this did not go far enough, that there was still massive ignorance in our nation about exactly what the agenda was. There was a feeling that it impacted on other people; it wasn't something that was for real knowledge or for real action that had to happen. Amongst the 18 recommendations was that there needed to be clear consideration within the Australian government that there must be a strategy and a plan that is public to which people can refer, where we can talk to each other about what, in fact, we are expected to do to reach this plan that will ensure that we have a focus on people, planet, prosperity, peace and partnership. There is opportunity for change; there's opportunity for action. I really hope that people will take the opportunity to read this report to get a snapshot about what's happening in Australia at the moment as part of our progress to achieve real change and ensure that we actually address the issues of poverty and disadvantage. So many organisations and people took the opportunity to come and see us to talk about how they felt it could operate. Australia has done its first voluntary review on the progress in Australia of the Sustainable Development Goals, which was handed down last year in Geneva. Did anybody here in this Senate know that even happened? This was a major commitment, a statement by Australia, to the world about what we were doing with the Sustainable Development Goals. There were two mentions on government websites about the fact that our voluntary national review had been handed down. That worries me immensely. If we as a nation have made a commitment, we need to talk about our commitment. We need to engage with the community to ensure what is available, what can happen, and how people can be involved in the process. It is very, very difficult to find mention of the Sustainable Development Goals in a regular way in any government publication, on websites or in the curriculum in schools. There was a particular recommendation to look at engaging our education system in the SDGs because one of the truly hopeful elements we discovered, not only in this inquiry but generally, was that if you work with young people, they get it. They want to be involved in the discussion, they want to know what is the future for their world and they want to be part of taking an active role. In a previous time here I talked about the work which the Forrest Primary School down the road did in their school program about how the Sustainable Development Goals impacted on them and how they made it real for their community and their families. And that is what gives me hope: the fact that there are pockets of knowledge, commitment and passion that we can tap to actually form an effective partnership so we can take real action. So the report has been handed down. I really hope that people across the community will take the chance to look at it to see for themselves how they are living now and whether they can be part of the change into the future. I really commend the recommendations to the government. It's not meant as a criticism. It is not meant as anything more than a challenge reflecting the evidence that we got in our committee—evidence from people who do care and who know about these processes. I want to end with a quote that was made by an 11-year-old. Miles said to us: The SDGs are hope. They are a shining beacon for a world with more equality, less poverty and a healthier environment. The SDGs have made us realise we are not helpless.
Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee; Documents | Committees | Senate debates
by leave—I table the documents that were prepared for Senator Gallacher on the Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee inquiry into the United Nations Sustainable...
by leave—I table the documents that were prepared for Senator Gallacher on the Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee inquiry into the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
International Year of Indigenous Languages | Adjournment | Senate debates
2019 has been determined as the International Year of Indigenous Languages. This gives us an opportunity both here and across the world to celebrate and engage in conversations about Indigenous...
2019 has been determined as the International Year of Indigenous Languages. This gives us an opportunity both here and across the world to celebrate and engage in conversations about Indigenous languages and the fact that 90 per cent of Indigenous languages around the world are considered endangered. It's through language that we communicate with the world, define our identity, express our history and our culture, learn, defend our human rights and participate in all aspects of society. Through language people preserve their community's history, customs and traditions, memory, unique modes of thinking, meaning and expression. They also use it to construct their futures. Language is pivotal and essential in the areas of human rights protection and good governance, peace building, reconciliation and sustainable development. All of these are key to the 2030 agenda. Our focus this year is in terms of Indigenous languages, but it fits into this continuing conversation across the world about our culture, our unity and our future. A person's right to use his or her chosen language is a prerequisite for freedom of thought, opinion and expression, access to education and information, employment, building inclusive societies and the values that we've enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Many of us take it for granted that we can conduct our lives in our home languages without any constraints or prejudice. But this is simply not the case for everyone. Of the almost 7,000 existing languages across the world, the majority have been created and spoken by indigenous peoples, who represent the greater part of the world's cultural diversity. Yet it's been identified that many of these languages are disappearing at an alarming rate, as the communities speaking them are confronted with forced assimilation, enforced relocation, educational disadvantage, poverty, illiteracy, migration and other forms of discrimination and human rights violations. This is certainly true in our own country, where we have an opportunity this year, with great support, to celebrate Indigenous languages. In Australia, we know that our history has been cruel to First Nations languages. In fact, the research that has been done indicates that the danger to Indigenous languages continues to be very severe in our nation. The elders, who have been the protectors of the language, need to have our absolute support so that we can protect the beauty, the integrity and the future of Indigenous languages in Australia. AIATSIS, the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, has been maintaining Aboriginal language documentation since 1964. It's clearly a national leader in the collection, documentation, preservation, research and essential revival of Australian Indigenous languages. There are surveys done to look at what's happening with Indigenous languages in Australia. There's a wonderful quote that is being celebrated this year as part of International Year of Indigenous Languages, by Brooke Joy, a descendant of the Boandik people from the Mount Gambier region in South Australia. Her comment about her own language was: Strong cultural identity enables one to feel proud of themselves, and speaking and maintaining one's language raises self-esteem and enables one to feel good about themselves. Traditional language is important for maintaining strong cultural connections. Where traditional languages have been taken away from communities, a sense of loss, grief and inadequacy develops. To keep communities and generations strong, traditional language being passed from one generation to another is vital. One of the absolute joys that I've had since I've been in this place is my work on the National Library Council—that absolute treasure of our nation which exists three blocks away from Parliament House. In this International Year of Indigenous Languages, the National Library is working closely with AIATSIS to examine issues around Indigenous languages in our nation. The first official event for the year's celebrations is the launch of a wonderful book, Ngana Ngai, or Who am I? I apologise, in using a native language, that I probably have just destroyed the pronunciation of the name of this wonderful book, but I had the chance to look at the book last week. It's an engaging paperback book for young children and it's being published this month to celebrate the year. The book introduces young readers both to native animals and the concept of Indigenous language, in this case the Kaurna language from South Australia. Through this book, everybody—not just children but everybody—has the opportunity to learn the words for animals such as parrot, wombat, kangaroo, cockatoo and echidna and discover a simple fact about each animal. Excitingly, Australian Standing Orders Scholastic, a book distributor to the education sector, has purchased 1,000 copies of the book, which means it will be distributed to schools throughout the country as well as being sold in bookshops across Australia and New Zealand. It is an essential element of the celebrations of our year that we engage with children so that they can learn about the beauty of Australian First Nations languages and also feel confident and proud to use these languages and, as Brooke said, understand the value of culture. Throughout the year, there will be many exhibitions, and many activities and calendars of events will be put up across the country. The Department of Communications and the Arts is the relevant department which is organising this. Also, we have very active engagement at the national level and internationally. People may know that recently the wonderful Cook and the Pacific exhibit closed at the National Library. One of the core elements of that exhibit was looking at native languages. As Cook travelled around the Pacific, he and the other people onboard ship took amazing records and actually kept records of Pacific languages as they were moving around. These treasures were available when people went to see the exhibit at the National Library. The closing event of the Cook and the Pacific exhibition marked the commencement of the Year of Indigenous Languages. Last weekend, Language Keepers: Preserving Indigenous Languages was a forum which focused on the word lists recorded on Cook's three Pacific voyages. These have become invaluable sources for historians and First Nations people. Over the weekend, experts in Australia and the Pacific discussed how the revitalisation of Indigenous languages is supporting practice and healing, and also focused clearly on the role of libraries and archives to support language restoration. We have opportunities through this year to learn, to enjoy, to celebrate. We are part not just of this opportunity in Australia but also of the international discussions. As I said, the loss of the native languages across our country has meant the loss of identity. The library also has plans for improving access to the existing language collections through the year, particularly through digitisation and consultation and by working closely with AIATSIS to ensure that people across this nation will be able to preserve and understand original product written in First Nations language by talking to elders, talking with people who research in this area to maintain the exquisite and quite wonderful tonal native elements of First Nations language. This is an important time for all of us. I think we need to learn, we need to engage in this process and we need to understand that, working together, we can preserve language and then, through that, preserve culture.
Advertising: Body Image, Cassell, Ms Cheryl, De Bruyn, Mr Joseph | Adjournment | Senate debates
Cairns: Keriba Omasker Memorial | Adjournment | Senate debates
On Saturday, 1 December, I had the incredible honour, with my friend Elida Faith, our candidate for Leichhardt in North Queensland, to represent Mr Bill Shorten at the moving tombstone ceremony...
On Saturday, 1 December, I had the incredible honour, with my friend Elida Faith, our candidate for Leichhardt in North Queensland, to represent Mr Bill Shorten at the moving tombstone ceremony which commemorated eight young lives which were tragically lost four years ago in the city of Cairns. Many people would remember the shock, the horror and the immense grief that was caused by the tragedy of the loss of these young lives and the way the communities came together to grieve and to hope that such a tragedy would never happen again. In the beautiful Torres Strait Islander culture, there is a traditional tombstone opening ceremony, which cultural protocol dictates be called 'Keriba Omasker', which means 'our children' in the Erub Island dialect of the Torres Strait Islander language of Meriam Mir, a language of the children's heritage. At a time many years after the actual funeral ceremony, there's an opportunity for the community to gather together again to end the formal period of mourning and to start the period of genuine celebration and acknowledgement of the spirits that have been lost and are still with us. One of the most beautiful elements of the Torres Strait Islander culture is that they believe that the spirits of those who have passed do not go beyond us; they actually go beyond the sunset and continue to be with us so that we can share with them, remember them and keep their memories alive into the future. The ceremony actually involves the time that the tombstones are made public to the community. The night before the ceremony, family members gather and they decorate each of the graves with mementos of the family and also with magnificent, beautiful quilts and colourful decorations. This is actually marking that transition period between grief and the time of remembrance. In many ways, whilst incredibly sad—the grief was there amongst the hundreds of people who were gathered at the Cairns cemetery—overwhelmingly, this was a time of joy because we were remembering eight innocent children who died together; it actually gave our community the chance to come together and move beyond that intense grief. It was an intensely beautiful and moving ceremony. We had a number of hymns in the language of the Eastern Islands. Anyone who has had the beautiful pleasure of hearing Torres Strait Islands music can think about how the harmonies sang out across the beautiful Cairns cemetery. There's been a special area put aside where the eight graves and their tombstones are gathered together so that people can come and remember and think about these young lives, the joy they gave us and also the chance that we know they are still with us in many ways. One of the more important elements of the ceremony was a message from the Torres Strait Regional Authority, which was given by Mr Joseph Elu, the member for Seisia, one of the areas in the Torres Strait. He called upon the people who were gathered there together to remember their culture. In the time of grief and the time of living, their beautiful culture will bring people together. All of the families and all of the friends who were there should constantly remember the beauty of the Torres Strait and always try to go home as much as possible so they can continue to share and to understand. The Torres Strait Islands have a great religious spirit, and a number of the local pastors were there to ensure that we joined in prayer. Amongst the hymns and the prayers, family members were able to come forward and to gather around each of the tombstones to remember the people and join in the anointing of the gravestones and the cutting of the ribbons. As this was done, the singing continued, and then, as each of the family groups were gathered around each of the tombstones, the opportunity came for them to read out the names of the children and mention their sunrise, which is the day of their birth, and their sunset, which was 19 December 2014. I want to read into the record the eight names of the children who were lost. At this stage I apologise for any of my pronunciation, because the names themselves are beautiful names that reflect Torres Strait Islander culture. They are: Malili Lydianna Margarita Emmakai Glorianna Warria, Vita Angelina Glorrianna Wazanna Thaiday, Shantae Jolee Majota Warria, La'Torrence Rayden Simeon James Warria, Azariah Ellison Reuben Willie, Daniel Stanley Willie, Rodney Jackson Deandre Willie, and Patrenella Frances Katalia Willie. The family were gathered around the beautiful tombstones of each of those children, which encouraged their names, biblical text for each of the children and photographs of them. The photographs were also given to us on the order of service that each of the people who attended were able to see: the beautiful children and the memories of their lives in family groups and also laughing together. So many of the photographs that we had of the children to remember them by were their school photos. On the day of the ceremony last Saturday so many young children were there together, taking part in the ceremony which, at the graveside, was concluded with a magnificent performance of wonderful Torres Strait Islander dance. As many people here would know, that thrusting thump of Torres Strait Islander drums causes people to move. Among the hundreds of people who had gathered to share in the ceremony you could feel the pleasure and the pain of the drums beating out as the memory of these children was shared by all. At that stage, the message to all of us was that our grief was real: the grief of the Cairns community, the community shared across the Torres Strait and also so many other people who learned of this tragedy at the time and felt they needed to be part of it because the shock was so great. They are now in the position of moving from mourning into remembrance—moving into the joy of remembering the innocence and excitement of so many young lives. That was translated to all of us by the music and then, as we left the cemetery, by the knowledge that we were going back to the large feast and celebration which was the second part of the activities. It was a cultural feast for family members and the extended community held at the Cairns Showgrounds in the evening. My understanding is that the dancing, singing and joy continued into the evening so that the spirits of each of those young people whose lives were lost so tragically four years ago are still with us. They are with us beyond the sunset and they will continue to live with us as we remember them and, particularly, hope that such a tragedy will never happen again in our community.
Climate Change | Matters of Urgency | Senate debates
Sometimes when I look at the agenda for these debates, and I see that this is supposed to be a matter of importance, I get excited. Then, all too quickly, my excitement fades, because what...
Sometimes when I look at the agenda for these debates, and I see that this is supposed to be a matter of importance, I get excited. Then, all too quickly, my excitement fades, because what happens is, rather than having a genuine discussion looking at a matter of genuine importance and trying to share knowledge and experience, it degenerates into what we often see whenever the issue is around coal or energy: a position where people have already made up their minds. They determine what they believe is right regardless of what other arguments they hear and regardless of what people are asking for in the wider community, which is some genuine understanding and acceptance that people, while they may have different views, have a common goal. On this particular argument, as we always see, it is not coming together to try and find out how we genuinely look at protecting our planet, understanding that we are global citizens. It doesn't matter whether we live here, whether we live in the Pacific islands, whether we live in Europe or whether we live in Antarctica: we are global citizens. The issues around climate change do continue to be debated in this place, because there do continue to be people who think that we have no role to play in this debate. They think that we can close our eyes, curl up in a ball in the southern part of the world and pretend, as we've just heard Senator Macdonald say, that there is nothing we can do to impact change, and that, therefore, we should just go ahead and ignore any of the evidence that's come forward that actually points to the fact that there are issues around our use of energy, that there are issues in the way that we celebrate, in some parts of this chamber, and that there is no alternative to the use and continued mining of coal with no limitations, with no restrictions and with a complete focus in our energy production and usage around coal in every sense. This afternoon we've heard people taking widely different positions, and that will continue because there doesn't seem to be any willingness to listen. People have already determined that either there is a problem and we're part of it or there could be a problem and we're no part of it, and that absolutely none of that problem relates to the use of coal and the continued mining of coal not just at the current levels but at ever increasing levels. What we hear from the people who do support, in this strange way, doing things in the same way is that it's not enough that already—the international evidence is that while Australia doesn't feature in the top 50 nations by population we are one of the top 20 economies, proven by our engagement in the G20, and we are one of the top 15 nations in terms of total greenhouse gas emissions. There is not an argument about that. That's fact. There may well be argument, as I've heard from the other side, consistently, about what causes greenhouse emissions. But in terms of the fact that they are real, I do not believe that there is an outstanding argument on that issue. The IPCC's recent report that came down caused great concern in some parts of the world. It caused great concern in parts of our country as well. I know that Senator Faruqi quoted extensively from comments made by David Attenborough at the current conference in Europe, and I know other people in this debate have quoted from that too. It is extraordinarily concerning reading. You see across the world a group of experts, in the area of science, with no vested interest. The people gathered at this international conference do not have any particular ownership in saying that our situation has reached crisis. That benefits no-one. The evidence we have before us talks about the gap in the way countries and individuals across the world are looking at the issues and taking measures for change. The gap that is occurring is leading to an urgency and a crisis across the world that may see significant changes in temperatures, our geography and the likelihood of the Arctic Ocean being free of sea ice in summer. The proportion of the global population exposed to global warming-induced water shortages will be up 50 per cent if we don't make change. Our coral reefs would, basically, cease to exist at the current level. And the indications go on. In terms of the fear that it engenders, it seems that it's selective. People are able to disassociate themselves from this situation, disassociate themselves from the concerns that have been raised. Indeed, as we've heard from Senator Macdonald, it does not seem to be a problem. Most specifically, it does not seem to be 'our' problem. I think that's where the arguments diverge. You accept that there are serious issues around climate change. You accept that there are a range of factors causing these issues, and that does include coal production and coal use for energy. It is not the only cause. And that's another issue. In our enthusiasm to find individual reasons that we can blame, very often people find one or two things and think they are the only causes. That's not true. There are a range of causes. There are a range of issues that we have to address. First of all, we have to identify, share and accept that there is a problem and that we're part of it. Last week in this place I had the joy of listening to a group of schoolchildren. These were not the schoolchildren to whom Senator Macdonald referred—who were ignorant, who were taking information from others, who were brainwashed—these were young people who were given the opportunity to do their own research. These were 11- and 12-year-olds. This is at a time when their brains are seeking information. What they did was research sustainable development goals. Amidst that, they accepted that we are part of the world and that we have shared responsibilities and that there are issues around climate change and energy. Some of the children decided that this was the area on which they would concentrate. Using the research they had available to them, they looked at the way we use energy, the way we generate energy, in our country and looked at the desperate need to find renewable ways to have energy in our lives and how we can best use that. They were not running away from the issues. They did not see that, somehow, if you lived in Australia, you were not part of a global problem. They didn't see that they could be removed from any responsibility and they accepted that there would be impacts on their lives, on their family's lives and on their communities if we didn't take action. So I think it is important that we do consider what is described as a matter of importance. But I do think it would be useful if, in this process, there was a degree of listening rather than just running the same arguments that we hold dear and attacking those who don't share those beliefs. I think that we had the opportunity to look at the international science evidence and also the significant evidence that has been produced locally by our scientists and by the researchers that work in the space in our communities here. I know Senator Macdonald quoted one statement from the Chief Scientist. If you look at the work that the Chief Scientist produced when he was doing his research across the country a few years ago, in building up to what was then the National Energy Guarantee, you can see that significant comments were made in that report about the need for us to look at alternate means of getting energy in our country and looking at the importance of renewables and looking at the importance of each of us taking responsibility in this space. There are opportunities. We need to ensure that we look at and understand what the realities are in our community and that we accept that we need to take action. One of those actions, one of the many actions, is looking at how we can have alternate ways of using and finding energy in our country. That's already on the agenda. But Australia, and my own state of Queensland, is not immune from the international impacts of climate change, and we must be part of any solution, any action, to make our country's response stronger and to keep not just current generations safe, not just our current geography safe, but our world and our families into the future.
Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade; Report | Committees | Senate debates
I want to make a few comments on this report this evening. I know people will want to talk on this into the future because of the importance of this particular issue, but I want to pick up from...
I want to make a few comments on this report this evening. I know people will want to talk on this into the future because of the importance of this particular issue, but I want to pick up from where Senator Faruqi has left off. It's absolutely time. Since I have been in this place, there have been a number of inquiries into the issues around PFAS, and we have become very familiar with the people who've come forward to give evidence on the issue. In fact, in the recent series of inquiries we talked to people who had given evidence about the impact of this particular issue on themselves, their businesses and their community three or four times. In terms of action, I think that there is almost a fatigue in the community—they expect responses from their government and have been given indications that responses will be coming, but consistently the action has been incomplete and inconsistent. And sometimes they feel as though their voices have not been heard. I'm hopeful that this particular series of reports will generate action. It will not solve the problem. One of the horrors of this PFAS contamination is that there does not seem to be the knowledge in our country or internationally on how you solve the problem. For me, one of the most confronting elements of evidence was in Oakey, which is very close to my home town on the Darling Downs. They put maps in front of the people whose properties were being discussed as well as representatives from the Darling Downs and Defence, and the maps clearly showed that the spread of contamination in the water around that area was continuing to happen. There was indication that there has been considerable expenditure of funds and that there have been activities involving three levels of government, because so often in this situation action requires coordination, cooperation and transparency between three levels of government. In the case of Oakey, the local regional council—the Toowoomba Regional Council—the state government and different elements of the federal government have been aware of the issue. There have been various public meetings across the region. There has been discussion, but the process continues. For me, the confronting element is that no-one has come up with concrete proven evidence about what the impact is and how we stop it. Certainly, that was what people were saying to us. They expressed to us their pain. They expressed to us their frustration and their anger. They also don't have clear life plans. There were people in each of the locations—and I will concentrate on Oakey because we have representatives from New South Wales and the Northern Territory who'll talk about the other sites covered by the inquiry—but what we found was that every single case was different. There is not a one-size-fits-all in this argument, except for the fact that they are all in pain. In terms of the response, there are some people who desperately need to flee because of the fear that has been created around what the possible impacts might be and because, as I said, of the evidence of continued water contamination. People wish to flee, and they wish to flee now. That's why previous senators raised issues around land values and the opportunities to get an effective sale for the properties where people had hoped to spend their retirement years, where they had hoped to build their families in a new area. That security and that hope has been thwarted by the information they received about these chemicals. But other people in exactly the same area with exactly the same information in front of them do not want to leave their homes. You cannot just say that everybody should be given a package that allows them to leave the areas of contamination or possible future contamination. That was not how everybody felt. There were some people who actually expressed to us at the committee hearings that they have been living in the region for four generations. Even knowing that their health could be impacted, even knowing that there is a lack of certainty about what the impact could be on themselves and their family, some people felt that this was their home, and they wanted to stay. So we don't have a single voice speaking from the communities, but what permeates the argument is fear of the unknown and fear of the impact on themselves, their families and their communities. And there has not been a clear answer from their governments—and I say 'governments' because it goes back a number of years. I know that there are differing views in the scientific community, but I didn't hear one comment at any time in the evidence saying that this was a good thing. Not one person said that they wanted to be surrounded by these chemicals. Not one person said that they felt this was going to be a good thing. This evidence came from the department as well as from people in the various community groups. I understand the complexity. I understand that there have been efforts made in the past to have community discussion. But what I felt very clearly was that there was limited trust in the communication. For the people in the affected communities that we met with, face to face, around Australia who had identified that these chemicals were in their homes or home region, there was a lack of trust. For us on the committee that was the No. 1 issue. There needs to be some process put in place to rebuild that trust to ensure that there is an understanding that the full truth, as people know it, will be shared, that the various impacts will be identified and that their government will be able to develop some response to the concerns. As Senator Faruqi mentioned, there are a number of strong recommendations coming out of this committee inquiry. We often do have strong recommendations come out of committee inquiries in this place. But now I think there has to be a genuine cross-party parliamentary commitment that there will be action taken, that this will not just be passed on to another series of committees down the track and that this time people's voices will be heard. That is still possible. I really believe it is still possible, but there has got to be clearer focus and a better communications strategy developed and put in place immediately. Certainly we as a committee believe that the idea of having a coordinator-general who would be a single point of response, who would coordinate across departments, who would coordinate across different levels of government and who would be a point on which communities could rely is a good one. Not everybody will hear the answers that they want to hear, because, as I said, there are different concerns and different responses required, but there would be a single point that would be able to have authority to listen and to respond. From our observations through the public hearings and also the written evidence, that is not in place now. There have certainly been attempts, and I do acknowledge that people, particularly in the Department of Defence and also within the environment department, have made efforts, but we need more. Certainly the evidence from a number of sources is that the international responses need to be coordinated as well. Seemingly, Australia is as well placed as anywhere in the world in this area of identifying the issues and seeking some response. I have expectation that there is scientific knowledge that can be gathered together to look at what we do next, but this is not getting better. As I said, those maps continue to haunt me. It is not getting better. We need to find a way that we can identify what we can put in place to allay the concerns and the fears and to ensure that the communities are not feeling abandoned. I'm not sure how many inquiries there have been on this issue, but there is still a sense of abandonment in the community about the response that they believe that they should have from their government. I want to acknowledge the commitment, courage and resilience of the people who came to us and gave their evidence. We as a committee feel that their voices were listened to, but we need to ensure now that there is genuine response, there is coordination of response and there is that so-valuable element of ensuring that there is a sense of trust between those who have been impacted on and those who, for whatever reason—and no-one claims that there's been criminal intent—have put chemicals in place which are impacting on Australians' lives. Along with Senator Faruqi, I say it's time to actually put an action plan in place. I seek leave to continue my remarks later. Leave granted; debate adjourned.
Forrest Primary School | Adjournment | Senate debates
Forrest Primary School, which is very close to this building, is proud to be authorised as an International Baccalaureate World School delivering the Primary Years Program. This program...
Forrest Primary School, which is very close to this building, is proud to be authorised as an International Baccalaureate World School delivering the Primary Years Program. This program encourages taking action to make the world a better place. As part of the program, students in their final year of primary school carry out: … an extended, in-depth, collaborative project known as the PYP exhibition. This involves students working independently and collaboratively to conduct an extensive inquiry into real-life issues or problems. It's a chance for students to make up their own minds about what can be important and what they will be able to do to make a real difference to their world. This year, Forrest Primary School, with the dedication and commitment of three of their class teachers, Carolyn Davis, Dan Heap and Sarah Bauer-McPhee, worked with the grade 6 graduating class of Forrest to look at the issues around the Sustainable Development Goals and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This was an opportunity for the young people to bring in their knowledge, passion and suggestions for action for their students, staff and families about what the SDGs meant to them, to their community and to their world. I was lucky enough to visit the school a few months ago in the middle of their research program, and I was absolutely astounded by their energy, their commitment, their research skills and the efforts they made to learn more about the SDGs and also the way that they really got the message. They understood that the SDG agenda was definitely about their world and about ensuring that no-one was left behind. They also saw that, while there were 17 goals—and each one in that class could tell me each of the 17 goals—they had to work together. So last Monday Forrest Primary School came to their Parliament House to give evidence to the Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee inquiry into the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The whole of the main committee room was full of over 60 students from the school. They came to talk with their parliament about what they had been doing and to put into action the messages that they wanted to give, not just to their families and friends that were able to visit their presentation, but to all of us, to show that the parliament had a role to actually commit, as they have done, to the SDG agenda. I want to talk about some of the contributions that we received as a committee. Senator McGrath is over there. He was able to listen to the school with Senator Gallacher and myself. The conversation started with Miles, who started his contribution by asking us how we would feel if we had to drink water that wasn't clean. His group had looked at the importance of water in our lives. They learnt about the impact of the fact that across the world more than 2,000 children die every day from unclean water and diseases associated with inadequate water supply. They talked about the 2.3 billion people who don't have sanitation such as toilets. They looked at goal 6, which looked at clean water and sanitation. They researched the process, and they took action. Remember, the idea of the baccalaureate program is to take action. Miles and his team decided that the Molonglo River, which runs through Canberra, was not as clean as it should be. So they went out together and did a clean-up in their river and took rubbish out of the water that is running through the city of Canberra. They understood there had to be an understanding of what clean water is all about and the importance of it. Then other students from the school came forward. The presentation from Honey was looking at the issues around the goal 11, building sustainable cities and communities. She talked about how important all the goals were in this place. She also challenged all of us. It's important for young people to have the knowledge and power to change the world so that they can lead by example and inspire. They know that through their exhibition the school community can do more. Ava talked about her team and SDG3, which is about health. She talked about the importance of immunisation across the world. Their focus group looked at the problem of good health and wellbeing. Without that there would not be a future for anyone in the world. Eloise talked about goal 15, which is life on the land. She encouraged her schoolmates and family to think about the issues of poaching in Africa and people who were poaching rhinos, elephants and tigers. She was telling people what that would mean for the future of wildlife and how we could protect animals. Senator Rice was talking about that earlier in Australia. They made that link. Phoebe's group looked at SDG1, poverty, focusing on poverty and homelessness. She was working with her team to look at having a donation box on the day of their exhibition to raise money for the homeless in Canberra and linking that into homelessness for young people in South Africa. Katerina and Ruby talked about SDG12, responsible consumption and production. They talked about the impact of plastics in the community and urged other students to try and limit the way they use plastic. Ruby talked about the action they took to make canvas bags, decorating those with messages, which then could be sold, reinforcing the need for looking at alternative ways to consume but also raising money for the project, which was looking at poverty. Claudette's team took on a biggie. That was one we talked to Senator McGrath about: SDG16, peace, justice and strong institutions. Claudette was looking at the issues around corruption in government. They thought that there was not a lot they could personally do at the moment about this issue, but they could raise awareness and raise knowledge about the importance of having integrity in government. Edgar was all across the issues of SDG7, affordable and clean energy, looking at how people can save energy and how we can use appliances better and look at natural light and upgrading appliances. Ava Rose was looking at life below waters in SDG14—again, that overwhelming issue of plastics. She set up a store with her mates at Coles in Manuka, talking with communities about what this meant. She was saying that people wanted to talk to them about what they were doing. Dylan also looked at life below water and how beautiful the ocean can be. Max looked at decent work and economic growth. He raised awareness for younger people with a game he invented so that it was balanced: if you had money and wealth, you always got ahead. If you were disadvantaged and poor, you kept losing the game, using a dice, and you just could not break that nexus of privilege. Elliott was talking about reduced inequalities. They had a stand at the exhibition which showed that, if you were rich and privileged, you were able to be listened to with respect, you had comfortable chairs and your opinions were valued. If you were not rich—if you were one of the disadvantaged, if you were poor, if you had been left behind—your opinions weren't taken into account and you weren't looked after. They ended their exhibition day with a dance. All the students got involved and they had a dance which represented the issues they'd been discussing. They also suggested maybe we could use a dance program here in parliament when we are looking at important issues. That might actually lift the level of debate that we sometimes have in this place. Adelaide is going to come back and talk to us later. She is going to put her own submission in about the issues around gender inequality, talking about how, often across our world, women are treated differently to men, and making sure that those inequalities are identified and that real action is taken. These young people get the message of the SDGs. When 2030 Agenda ends, they will be 24 and they'll be making decisions about the future of our planet. We heard today about the activism of students. I think Forrest Primary School has put this activism into place. The inspiration that they provide and the challenge they provide to us make it clear that they expect their government to be deeply involved in these processes. They have told us that the SDGs are important, they're real and they can provide a plan for us into the future. I hope people get the chance to read their evidence in full in the Hansard of our inquiry. It's people like the young students at Forrest Primary School that can lead us into a better future where no-one is left behind.
Plan International: The State of the World's Girls | Adjournment | Senate debates
As many people in this chamber know, every year since 2007 Plan International has published a State of the World's Girls report. I think every year I have commented on their reports in this place...
As many people in this chamber know, every year since 2007 Plan International has published a State of the World's Girls report. I think every year I have commented on their reports in this place and it has covered a wide range of issues, including domestic violence, education and access to services. This year it is in a new format. The format of the Plan report this year is Unsafe in the city: aresearch report on girls' safety across five cities in the world. The cities are Madrid, Delhi, Kampala, Sydney and Lima. They are vastly different cities. This project engaged with young women living in these cities about their personal safety and how they think that their city should be safer for them. The purpose of the report is quite clear. It is to shine a light on the relentless sexual harassment and abuse that is a daily norm for so many young women and girls on our city streets. We made this statement, but more importantly this is a statement that young women have made to us. They believe there is a relentless process in their cities, in their homes, that causes them to be unsafe, that causes them to make decisions that are not those which they want to make, but they feel that they are not safe. Unsafe in the city is the first in a new series of State of the World's Girls reports from Plan International, and it shines a light for all of us. It presents a worrying rise in intimidation and insecurity, which is stopping girls from realising their true potential in our urban spaces. This is particularly important, because we look at this issue as we're considering SDG5 across the world, looking at safety, the importance of women and achieving gender equality. If young women—women of all ages, but particularly at this time young women—do not feel safe, they will not be able to feel equal. I so often talk about that major SDG theme of making sure that no-one is left behind. When young women are unsafe, they will be left behind and we will have no way of making sure that we have genuine equality. We heard similar stories in these five cities—as I said, different places. Young women are frightened for their very physical safety, and they are angry and frustrated because their voices have not been heard or taken seriously. Harassment should never be seen as part of a normal life for girls and young women. It is not harmless fun. It is frightening, it's disempowering and it's completely unacceptable, and we can make a change. The way the program was introduced was through working on a Free To Be online map-based social survey tool which was developed and piloted in Melbourne. The findings in the 2016 pilot in Melbourne highlighted blatant inequalities in that city, which caused many to sit up and take notice. As a result of these studies, Plan International commissioned a further study, extended to the five cities which we have now, using the methodology and using the partners CrowdSpot, a digital company specialising in map based data collection, and XYX Lab, based at Monash University in Melbourne. Digitally mapping the process of letting the young women involved make indications of where they feel safe and what's causing their issues, and being able to record this digitally so that the results can be counted, gives people the chance to be involved and to reinforce the point that all girls have the right to feel safe in their city. The Free To Be methodology provides the evidence to present to city bosses and planners to encourage them to work with girls and young women to bring about genuine change in the cities. This aspect around sexual harassment fits in with a number of studies which have been conducted in Australia. Only earlier this year, our 2018 sexual harassment survey, which was conducted with the Sex Discrimination Commissioner, indicated there was a range of fear and concern about sexual harassment across Australia. In September this year, Kate Jenkins, the Sex Discrimination Commissioner, presented a paper called 'Everyone's business'. This particular paper reinforced what happened in the sexual harassment survey and talked about exactly the same issues that were raised in the Plan survey across the five cities internationally—exactly the same indications of feeling unsafe, exactly the same frustration and exactly the feeling that their voices were not being heard and that people were just not understanding the issues of harassment and, even more importantly, the fact that this is everyone's business and that together, as a community, we can put an end to this scourge, which has clearly affected so many lives. When the Sex Discrimination Commissioner presented the paper to the National Press Club, she said: The most common reasons people said they didn't report their experiences were: If that is the reaction that young girls have when they are feeling afraid and isolated—that the reason they won't tell someone about it, the reason they won't go to people in authority, is that they just don't think anything will change—indicates that we have a significant problem in our community. There was also a deep concern that there wasn't an understanding about the impact of harassment. There needed to be a genuine acceptance that there is something seriously wrong and that, together, we could make a difference. Out of both the Plan International paper and the Sex Discrimination Commissioner's paper, there are a number of things we see that, together, we could do. One of them, and this is one of the clear recommendations of the Plan paper, is that we must institute behavioural change. We have to challenge the sense of blame in our culture, and listen to and act upon the stories of women and girls. And sometimes this means challenging the definition of masculinity. This leads to another aspect of the whole discussion. This is an issue that affects women and girls, but it must engage men and boys, and it must engage our whole community. The intent of these surveys is to shine a light on this behaviour, and, if we are going to change the culture, it must be done together. We also need to ensure that the voices of young women, and of the young men who support them—because there must be a desire for change among young men as much as young women—must be involved in the decisions that are made. You identify the issue. You identify the areas where people feel most vulnerable. One of the ones that come up consistently is public transport. Women feel that on public transport they are not safe. They will be harassed. They will be touched inappropriately. Comments will be made which will be inappropriate. They are fearful about using a public service, something which governments provide to help communities. Public transport is one of the most dangerous areas that have been indicated in five cities across different continents, and also in Sydney. One of the areas that came up was Sydney public transport. We can make a difference. These surveys have not been done necessarily to cause us to be frustrated or cause us not to take action. The rationale behind them is to make us take action and to indicate to each other that we can make a difference. And we can. Following the Sexual Harassment Survey, there has now been instituted a national inquiry through the Human Rights Commission to look at issues of sexual harassment in the workplace in Australia. The first round of those hearings has already begun, and the Human Rights Commission are calling upon people across Australia to submit their own views, their own concerns and their own experiences to this exercise, and also to take part in the community hearings. We know a large number of people have already done that. I am really hopeful that the work that Plan International has done, particularly in Australia, in Sydney, will stimulate more young women and girls to get involved in the public hearing process that's now being done by the Human Rights Commission, because if we can continue to gather the evidence, if we can break that element where people don't report because they don't think anything will change and no-one's listening, and get involved, then we can make plans into the future to make our communities safer. If our young women feel as though they will not be harassed in public, that will make a stronger community for all of us. I am hopeful that the work that has been done will have that result. Senate adjourned at 18:09
Australian Embassy: Israel | Questions without Notice | Senate debates
Yesterday in question time, Prime Minister Morrison said he had been 'in direct contact with President Widodo'. Can the minister confirm today's reports that the Prime Minister told the President...
Yesterday in question time, Prime Minister Morrison said he had been 'in direct contact with President Widodo'. Can the minister confirm today's reports that the Prime Minister told the President of Indonesia of his decision to overturn 70 years of bipartisan foreign policy via a text message? Again, Minister, do appropriate levels of government include cabinet?
I didn't get the answer to whether it went to cabinet or not, but I have further questions to ask, so I'll put them together. The report reveals that the frantic pace of the decision left:...
I didn't get the answer to whether it went to cabinet or not, but I have further questions to ask, so I'll put them together. The report reveals that the frantic pace of the decision left: … little time to inform affected countries and sparking an angry reaction from foreign diplomats in Canberra who are usually informed of major foreign policy changes weeks in advance. What representations has the Australian government received from other nations in response to its decision to change longstanding bipartisan foreign policy? Again, Minister, did this decision go to cabinet?
My question is to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Senator Payne. In a story in this morning's The Australian entitled 'Morrison risks Jakarta's ire on Israel', it's revealed that the government...
My question is to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Senator Payne. In a story in this morning's The Australian entitled 'Morrison risks Jakarta's ire on Israel', it's revealed that the government is understood to have fast-tracked the decision to change longstanding bipartisan foreign policy, including the location of Australia's embassy in Israel. When was the decision made to announce that Australia was considering moving its embassy to Israel? Was it a decision of cabinet? If not, who made the decision?
People with Disability | Adjournment | Senate debates
This week I met with representatives from CBM Australia, which is a wonderful organisation. It is an international Christian development organisation committed to improving the quality of life of...
This week I met with representatives from CBM Australia, which is a wonderful organisation. It is an international Christian development organisation committed to improving the quality of life of people with disabilities in poor communities around the world, whether it is in one of our cities in Australia or—their special focus—in the Pacific. This extraordinary group of people have worked in partnership with people with disabilities, non-government organisations, government and international agencies to genuinely empower people with disabilities to achieve their human rights and participate fully in society. They regularly come to Canberra and they often have forums which allow parliamentarians to meet with them and focus particularly on how we can have a genuinely inclusive international development program. This week they were particularly focusing on the fact that this is the time when we look at the impact of poverty across our world and it is also the same week—because there is a limit to how many weeks there are in the calendar—when we look at issues around deafness in our community. And that was important, because what they came to see me about was how we could combine our consideration of these two very important elements in this place and in our work. We all know that, in 2015, world leaders gathered at the United Nations to address some of the most complex issues faced by the global community—absolutely centrally, how the world was going to address poverty, inequality, discrimination and environmental degradation amongst other things—and to propose together a new pathway towards a more sustainable, equitable and prosperous future. The end result, after years of consultation, was the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which has set out the 17 goals which we've talked about in this place and 169 targets to measure progress and to ensure absolutely—and this is the key message of the 2030 agenda—that we leave no-one behind. Through this whole process, people with disabilities assembled in our communities in Australia and also internationally to make their presence known and to ensure that they were not left out of the SDG agenda. During the preceding period of time, in the MDGs, the Millennium Development Goals, which drove the global development efforts from 2000 until 2015, disability was not mentioned at all and the people across the world who were interested and engaged in issues around disability identified this. They kept their voices in the conversations to ensure that, when the world was looking at evaluating what had happened through the MDG process—and there were advances; the issues around poverty were addressed—they would not go unheard in whatever the world came to agree to in the future. As a result, in 2015, UN members and observers alike agreed together that people with disabilities were disproportionately represented among those who had been left behind and registered grave concern that: … people with disabilities … continue to be subject to multiple, aggravated and intersecting forms of discrimination. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development does contain 11 specific references to people with disabilities across five goals and features an overarching commitment, as I have said, to ensure that those 17 mainstream goals are implemented for all. This is the commitment; this is what Australia signed up to. This year, we made our first voluntary report to the UN—which is publicised across Australia and internationally—about what we have been doing across the 17 goals, and, within that, there has been a focus on people with disabilities. In fact, through the international development process, we are actually working on our commitment, through DFAT, to the Development for All 2015-2020: Strategy for strengthening disability-inclusive development in Australia's aid program. We are now moving towards the evaluation of that strategy for what is going to happen next. That strategy builds on our experience in implementing the Australian government's first strategy for disability-inclusive development, which helped to establish Australia as a strong voice globally in this area. At this time, as always, I want to acknowledge the extraordinary work done in this area by Bob McMullan, who was the Parliamentary Secretary for International Development Assistance in the Rudd government and was the person whose commitment, strength and energy ensured that the international development program was developed at that time, through the Rudd-Gillard governments, and was the basis of formulating where we were going when we had the large review of our aid program. The government acknowledged that there was an opportunity and, in fact, an absolute responsibility to have an inclusive international development policy. That was developed early on under that government, from 2009 and throughout that period. When this current strategy was launched by then Minister Bishop, she acknowledged the work that had been done in that period with organisations such as CBM Australia and assured us that we were going to absolutely have that as one of the processes in our international development program. So, having gone through that, in moving towards 2030 with our international development agenda we have the tools to guide all of us on that collective journey—and the 2030 agenda provides a road map. That's the kind of language that's used; we are on a 'journey' and we have a 'road map' for where we are hoping to get to, which is a world that leaves no-one behind. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the CRPD, provides the instruction manual to ensure that the world we create along the way is genuinely inclusive of all people. Using those frameworks in Australia and in the international arena gives us the opportunity to ensure that all those at risk or experiencing existing disadvantage, such as the deaf community—as we were talking about this evening—are part of the process and, most particularly, will not be left behind. One of the joys of working in this area is meeting people who have real-life experience. I know that term can be overused. But being involved in international development means you hear people's stories that remind you why international development is so important. Tonight I want to mention just one of the stories from CBM. They have a wonderful publication called Leave no one behind. The story is about Kwemal, who is 55, and Maina, who is 24, a mother and daughter living in Vanuatu. Both are deaf. Like most countries in the Pacific, Vanuatu has no formal or shared sign language. That creates a real communication problem for people. They actually have their own way as family members, but how do such people genuinely become part of the wider society? Maina says she feels happiest when she's with family and friends and playing football. She really wants to go back to school—because education, as we all know, is the real basis for providing people with genuine opportunities in their lives and development in their communities. CBM are working in Vanuatu to see if they can establish networks so there can be an acknowledgement of this and an education program around communication. We have such strength in Australia in terms of our professionalism and skills in this space, and still people feel isolated. But just imagine the level of disadvantage and isolation when it is compounded by living in a country in the Pacific that has no strategy or system in place to ensure that people can communicate and have access to wider social networks. This is an integral part of the international development program that we are part of now in our government program through until 2020 and also part of our commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals through to 2030. This week we need to think about these opportunities and think about the people. These are not statistics; they are people. I genuinely believe that, as we evaluate the program that we are involved in now until 2020, we need to plan for the next round of development for all so that the issues that have been identified in countries like Vanuatu for people like Kwemal and Maina, and their needs, can be addressed. The fact that we can share knowledge and professionalism and we can open the door to greater opportunities in communication fulfils what I think the expectations of all of us must be—that is, a world where no-one is left behind.
Northern Australia | Ministerial Statements | Senate debates
I seek leave to continue my remarks later. Leave granted; debate adjourned.