Pauline Hanson (Queensland, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Hansard source

[by video link] In relation to the amendment that was put up by the government, I want to clarify that the reporting date for the inquiry moved to 30 November. It is not in one month. As Jacqui Lambie was saying, it was only going to be in one month.

I do support the government to move the reporting date to 30 November. I have heard from a lot of people who are fed up with inquiries into suicides. A lot of people are calling for a royal commission into it—that is true—but the government have made a commitment to put a commissioner in place. They have given an undertaking that who that commissioner will be will be announced almost immediately. I believe that the commissioner should be given the opportunity to start his work. If we hold this up with another inquiry, that means the interim commissioner cannot do anything and cannot do their job.

People have had enough with inquiries. I think there have been about 17 or 18 inquiries into this. I understand Jacqui Lambie's passion about this. I understand that she's frustrated at the answers hardly met, but we need to give the commissioner the opportunity to start investigating—and it's not about future deaths; it's about deaths in the past—those over 500 deaths have occurred in our Defence Force, and I fully understand that.

I do support Jacqui Lambie having her inquiry. But I think to extend that inquiry out for a year—which was initially until 27 August next year—was not reasonable. Even now, in taking it out to April, I think it needs to be a shorter period of time. As I explained to Jacqui Lambie, we need to get the commissioner working and to start working on this. Therefore I cannot support Jacqui Lambie's amendment—