Claire Moore (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I want very briefly to add something to the comments that have been made by the other members of the committee. This inquiry on suicide cannot be something that is left to sit on shelves. We have over 40 recommendations, which can be a little bit confronting for people, but the message from all of us who took part in this inquiry was that these recommendations come from the heart. What we were expecting from them was a greater awareness and some real action to come from the process that we were lucky enough to share in.

As is usual with the Senate Community Affairs References Committee, the number of people who came to tell us their personal experiences and to share in an act of hope and positive solution making allows us to move forward so that there will be some concerted effort in this country around the very important issue of suicide. There is not time to talk too much about it now, and I am sure that many people will continue to talk about this inquiry and the opportunities we have in the future, but I very much wanted to commend again the people who came and shared with us. When you see the inquiry—and I really hope that many people will get the chance to read it—you will see the depth of compassion and knowledge that people have chosen to give to our committee and then expected us to do something with. It is not just storytelling; it is an expectation that, by doing this quite difficult action—coming and talking with our committee—there will be a resultant action taken by the government. As have many people, I commend the work of the secretariat. I think it is most important that we move forward and make a concerted effort in this country to face up to the issues that have affected so many people and so many families so that these issues are not hidden and avoided. We can work together to make a better response in this country. With that, I seek leave to continue my remarks.

Leave granted; debate adjourned.