Sarah Hanson-Young (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

Australians are appalled at what they're seeing happening here in Parliament House. Women and men around this country were shocked when they heard the incredibly brave account from Brittany Higgins of her story of being raped in this building, in her workplace, just metres from the Prime Minister's office. Following Brittany's story, the extremely serious allegations that have been made against the Attorney-General, Christian Porter, have rocked the nation. I received the dossier of evidence and the account of the accusations put forward by the woman at the centre, alleging that Christian Porter had raped a 16-year-old girl when he was 17. Tragically, that woman has now taken her own life. Women across Australia have had enough. We've had enough of the violence, enough of the harassment, enough of the excuses and enough of the boys' club.

Yesterday, across Australia, more than 100,000 women and decent men rallied to call for an end to violence against women, an end to harassment, sexism and abuse. The Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, refused to join the rally, refused to come and listen, refused to witness the rally right here on the steps of Parliament House, as thousands of women called to be heard and for action. The Prime Minister has even refused to read the brief of evidence that he too was sent by the friends of the woman who alleges that she was raped by Christian Porter. The Prime Minister has refused to listen to her, to read her own words and to hear her story.

A collective voice is now growing to call out those who refuse to listen, to call out those who refuse to take seriously incidents of sexual harassment, assault and abuse. This collective voice is calling for action, calling for accountability and calling for an independent inquiry into the allegations about whether the Attorney-General is a fit and proper person to hold that position here in the Australian parliament. I've been asked many times in the last two weeks whether I would detail the allegations made by the woman at the centre of the incident she alleged happened at the hands of the Attorney-General. I won't be doing that here tonight, but what I have pledged to do is to put on the record the names of Australians who want to see change, who want to see accountability upheld in the highest offices of this land, by the Attorney-General and, of course, the Prime Minister—names like Karina Natt, Tammy-Jo Sutton, Rebecca Bayliss, Emily Haren, Bonnie Keates, Jasmine Matz, Josie Stockdill, Josie Presch, Aaron Tepe, Aaron Wilson, Abbey Belton, Abbey Brown, Abbi Fenton, Abbie Hay, Abbie Steele, Abdul Aleem, Adam Abdul Razak, Adam Dartnell, Adam Tatana, Adela Brent, Adele Field, Adele Hamlyn, Adele van der Winden, Adriana Garcia, Adrienne Beck, Adrienne Paley, Adrienne Price, Adrienne Woodhouse, Aemelia Hopley, Afra Feeney, Agnes Cusay, Aidan Offe, Aiden Parisi, Aileen Walsh, Ailsa Drent, Ainsley Ewart, Ainslie Ashton, Ainslie Vaka, Alexis Nicholas, Alexis Simmonds, Ali Bowen, Ali Cairns, Ali Jansen, Ali Mitchell, Ali Roush, Alice Goulter, Alice Handsaker—