Lidia Thorpe (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I withdraw that but I think you get the sentiment. It's absolutely disgusting what you people are doing to normal people out there that don't have your privilege. You haven't struggled in this country like these people have but you continue to make laws that hurt people and keep them locked up and torture them. You talk about mental health but you're happy to take someone's dignity and liberties away. How do you think that affects someone's mental health?

How dare they do this to people imprisoned in this country? How dare they backdate this decision? I hope that the minister responsible delivers that message personally to every prisoner who has been on good behaviour, doing the right thing, who they decided: 'You're just a pleb to me, because I'm so privileged and I don't have to care about people like you in my world. My world is so plastic and privileged, I don't really care about anybody else. Because I'm a politician, I'm right; I've been here for a decade or so. I've got my mansion. I've got my white privilege. Why should I care about people that are in jail? Why should I care about people in detention? Why should I care about this so called climate thing that I keep denying?'

What do they actually care about beside themselves—seriously? They prance around here so privileged—so privileged!—that they don't even know it. I urge those opposite to get rid of this bill and, while they're doing that, to check their privilege. Instead of giving me little smirks and raising eyebrows, which is what privileged white people do to black people like me, they should check their privilege, get rid of this bill and give people their human rights and dignity. (Time expired)