Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

The government does not support this motion. The government notes that this is the second time this year that Senator Xenophon has sought the Senate's intervention in this matter, which arose out of incidents that occurred at the John Oxley Youth Detention Centre in 1988. The Senate has inquired into these matters to the limits of its jurisdiction in four substantial inquiries stretching over more than a decade. In all of these inquiries the Senate committees were unable to find evidence to substantiate the numerous allegations.

There are undoubtedly matters of concern in these events. The main question that should be asked is what jurisdiction does the Senate have to achieve any justice for any of the victims now and what can the Senate do now that it has not already done. For those reasons the government does not support the motion.