Jonathon Duniam (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Sorry about that, Senator Brown. Yes, I will make a very brief contribution on this committee report. Senators Brown and Siewert have gone over the content of the committee report in some detail. As a Tasmanian and a relatively new senator my insight and experience into the matters this committee inquired into were very limited. So participating in the work of this particular inquiry on the community affairs committee was eye opening, to say the very least. Getting out to communities in Western Australia and the Northern Territory was incredibly informing.

I concur with Senator Siewert in thanking those who made submissions to the inquiry, which made for some pretty weighty reading, I have to say. There are some pretty disturbing things covered, when you read the impact that this has on individuals and their families and, in many cases, entire communities. What was heartening, though, was the degree of compassion shown by many in the community—those who are genuinely trying to make a difference and who fronted up to our committee hearings and suggested ways forward and things which governments across the country could be doing to make the lot and lives of those who were subject to indefinite detention better. I do want to thank those who provided submissions and those who came and gave us oral evidence. I think there was a general agreement among the committee membership as to what needed to be done. Everyone seemed to be pulling in the same direction in suggesting the need for legislative reform as well as early intervention—trying to head these problems off at the pass, rather than allowing things to get to the point where the easiest thing to do is, sadly and to put it crudely, to lock people up and throw away the key. That is effectively what we saw happening in many instances.

We did tour some excellent facilities, and again I would like to thank the governments of the Northern Territory and Western Australia for opening their doors and giving us a very full and frank insight into how they operate, the problems they face and the support they need. I would also like to acknowledge the committee members, particularly the chair Senator Siewert for heading up this inquiry with such passion, but also Senators Dodson and McCarthy who have particular interests in how this impacts on their communities. I would like to thank them very much and, as others have before me, thank the secretariat for their incredible work in bringing this report to a conclusion and other reports to come. With that, I seek leave to continue my remarks.

Leave granted.