Steve Fielding (Victoria, Family First Party) Share this | Hansard source

This is a very personal issue for everyone in this chamber to look at. As someone who has been sexually abused—and I have declared that before, though that is not the issue here—I regard this as a serious matter that has been put forward again, and I have definitely been weighing it up very heavily. Since the notice of motion came through yesterday—I think it was four o'clock when I got it—I have had to weigh up what has been put forward and what has been looked into before by the Senate. I have to weigh up whether the accusations should continue or whether another inquiry is warranted. And it is not easy to weigh both those issues up. I have had people approach me from both sides on this issue. I suppose that I hate people accusing me of things, but I also do not like sexual abuse and that is why I am torn between these two viewpoints.

I know that there have been a number of occasions when the Senate has considered this issue before, and I do understand that matters proposed for this inquiry have already been investigated by Senate com­mittees on several occasions to the extent of their jurisdiction and there has been found to be nothing to go on with. I am concerned that maybe we are making accusations again and the issue is: what do you do with that? I am concerned about both issues and I am concerned about how many more times we will look into this.

Some people have said to me that we should just continue to do it until we get another answer. I do not think that is right either. I have always taken my vote seriously in this place and I am torn between the two. What has not helped was getting the notice of motion and the detail of it late yesterday. I am being frank: there has been a lot of time—months—for this to be brought forward and for the two issues to be weighed up. I do not think that I can support it.