Andrew Bartlett (Queensland, Australian Democrats) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Leader of the Government in the Senate, Senator Minchin. I draw the minister’s attention to the motion agreed to without dissent by the Senate this morning supporting the establishment of a royal commission into the sexual assault and abuse of children throughout Australia. Can the minister advise the Senate if and when the Prime Minister will be responding to or acting on this very important and significant resolution?

Nick Minchin (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance and Administration) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I first acknowledge Senator Bartlett’s long-term, consistent and diligent application of his time and energy to preventing this greatest of evils, the sexual abuse and abuse generally of children. I am sure there is not a senator in this place who does not share his overwhelming concern about this, as I said, great public evil that is regrettably abroad in our community.

We were happy to join with Senator Bartlett and his colleagues in supporting the motion this morning as a mark of our good faith and our concern as a government to do all that we possibly can to deal with child abuse in our community. Indeed, the subject is of considerable notoriety this week, given the appalling case of the person who came from New Zealand with his three-year-old daughter, that child’s mother apparently having been murdered in New Zealand, and abandoned the child at a Melbourne railway station. Child abuse can take many forms, and that is one of the most appalling forms of child abuse that I am aware of.

Of course, while all of us are concerned about it, those of us who are privileged to be parents—and I am one—feel it most particularly and feel enormous anger and despair when we read almost daily of the most dreadful cases of child abuse in this country. Regrettably, one of the phenomena of the breakdown of marriage seems to be that child abuse increases. When a single mother finds herself in a new relationship, she may find that her new partner does not have the same respect for children that parents always have. It is despairing to read of cases almost every week where child abuse occurs within the family environment, often in those sorts of situations.

Whether or not the commissioning of a royal commission for a major national inquiry into this matter is the best way to go about it is a matter for legitimate debate. Whether such a royal commission is the best way to go about dealing with this at a national government level is something that we are prepared to consider. It is one of the reasons we agreed to the motion; we will consider that question. I cannot give a timeline or a specific determination as to when we might respond but, in the meantime, I think the government have shown good faith. We accept that this is very much a bipartisan issue. We would not seek to suggest that there should be any partisanship or that we are better or worse than anybody else. I accept the good faith of all parties on this issue.

Our good faith and determination to do something about this has been demonstrated most particularly, of course, by our intervention in the Northern Territory. That has been motivated entirely by our concern over the continuing reports and evidence of appalling child abuse in communities, most particularly in the Northern Territory. It was by that motivation that we have engaged in this intervention. Frankly, as someone brought up as a member of the Anglican Church, I am staggered to find the Anglican Archbishop of Sydney questioning our motives and questioning that intervention. I think it is one of the finest things that our government has done and we welcome the support that we have had from across the board for that intervention, which was motivated by our concern for the welfare of the children concerned.

While much is said about the whys and wherefores of what is called cooperative federalism, I do note that we have been working very closely with state and territory ministers through the Community and Disability Services Ministers Conference to deal with this issue at a national level. (Time expired)

Andrew Bartlett (Queensland, Australian Democrats) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I ask a supplementary question, Mr President. I would remind the minister and the Senate that the coalition members—and I will read the actual part of the resolution—expressed:

… support for the longstanding call for a comprehensive royal commission into the sexual assault and abuse of children throughout Australia, especially in institutions.

Whilst I note that this is a mark of good faith, it suggests it might be problematic if the extent of any action consists of expressing support for resolutions and not actually acting on them. Could the minister indicate whether there will be an indication from the government at least before the election date about how this support for the longstanding call for a royal commission may be translated into action—even if that action does not specifically match that called for in the resolution but is some other form of action which does actually deal with child sexual abuse and assault in a more comprehensive, nationwide way rather than on an ad hoc, case by case basis?

Nick Minchin (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance and Administration) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As I was saying in answer to the first question before my time expired, through the relevant state and territory ministers conference there is an agreed national approach to child protection which I would assert on behalf of those ministers is a comprehensive approach by all relevant levels of government to protecting Australia’s children. It was a mark of good faith that coalition senators were happy to join in supporting the motion today with respect to a royal commission. But, of course, that motion would be a matter for the cabinet to consider and to determine what further action the national government might choose to take on this matter. I just want to reassert our bona fides on this matter. Our deep and abiding concern is that we, as a national government, do everything we possibly can to ensure a proper nationwide, comprehensive approach to the protection of Australia’s children.