Ms CARNEY - 2007-06-19
Your government has been promising to establish a commissioner for children for three years, yet one remains unestablished. This is like your other promises in this area: unfulfilled. Again, I ask the question: are you incapable or unwilling to act in a decisive manner when dealing with child sexual abuse?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, again, the issue of the children’s commissioner is part of the changes to the legislation that we are dealing with. Quite properly, if you have an inquiry into an area as we have just seen, and acknowledge the importance of dealing properly with the protection of Aboriginal children, then we are waiting until those recommendations come through before we finally bring that legislation into the parliament.
It is interesting, Madam Speaker, that the Opposition Leader …
Ms Carney interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order, order! Leader of the Opposition!
Ms MARTIN: Madam Speaker, I suspect the Opposition Leader has not read the inquiry’s report because her questions are not informed by what is in this very long and very complex report.
The report says that the initiatives that have been put in place by this government, the focus that has been given by this government, are in the right direction. Any implication that we are not acting to tackle this insidious issue in our community is wrong. It is wrong. On issues to do with, say, alcohol in Alice Springs, for which so much work has been done over the last 18 months, if you are looking at tackling alcohol right across the Territory, we have a substantial track record.
If you look at the other key issue of the inquiry, it is education. We have started to see some results in education in the Territory, particularly in our bush schools. It is a significant problem, and the inquiry says education is at the heart of protecting Aboriginal children from sexual abuse. It is at the heart. Much work has been done in education and we will continue to do it. We will lift our effort. We have lifted it over the last six years, and we will continue to lift it, as we are doing with alcohol.
We appreciate the insidiousness of alcohol, its trigger in so many areas that is causing problems for Aboriginal Territorians, and we will continue to act on that. The proposals for change to legislation are under way. They will be in the parliament in August. Much work has been done. That does not mean that we have done everything we should have. No, we have not, but we have done a hell of a lot more than the CLP ever dreamed of. We have done so much more in tackling, identifying and being honest about a problem. I have no shame in saying we will continue to tackle it, that we have not done enough, but we will do more.
One of the things that the inquiry said is that they hope that their recommendations will have bipartisan support and that we can work together as a parliament, we can work with the federal government and with other players cooperatively to see change. I appeal to the opposition: work with us on this. It is too important for your petty politics.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, again, the issue of the children’s commissioner is part of the changes to the legislation that we are dealing with. Quite properly, if you have an inquiry into an area as we have just seen, and acknowledge the importance of dealing properly with the protection of Aboriginal children, then we are waiting until those recommendations come through before we finally bring that legislation into the parliament.
It is interesting, Madam Speaker, that the Opposition Leader …
Ms Carney interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order, order! Leader of the Opposition!
Ms MARTIN: Madam Speaker, I suspect the Opposition Leader has not read the inquiry’s report because her questions are not informed by what is in this very long and very complex report.
The report says that the initiatives that have been put in place by this government, the focus that has been given by this government, are in the right direction. Any implication that we are not acting to tackle this insidious issue in our community is wrong. It is wrong. On issues to do with, say, alcohol in Alice Springs, for which so much work has been done over the last 18 months, if you are looking at tackling alcohol right across the Territory, we have a substantial track record.
If you look at the other key issue of the inquiry, it is education. We have started to see some results in education in the Territory, particularly in our bush schools. It is a significant problem, and the inquiry says education is at the heart of protecting Aboriginal children from sexual abuse. It is at the heart. Much work has been done in education and we will continue to do it. We will lift our effort. We have lifted it over the last six years, and we will continue to lift it, as we are doing with alcohol.
We appreciate the insidiousness of alcohol, its trigger in so many areas that is causing problems for Aboriginal Territorians, and we will continue to act on that. The proposals for change to legislation are under way. They will be in the parliament in August. Much work has been done. That does not mean that we have done everything we should have. No, we have not, but we have done a hell of a lot more than the CLP ever dreamed of. We have done so much more in tackling, identifying and being honest about a problem. I have no shame in saying we will continue to tackle it, that we have not done enough, but we will do more.
One of the things that the inquiry said is that they hope that their recommendations will have bipartisan support and that we can work together as a parliament, we can work with the federal government and with other players cooperatively to see change. I appeal to the opposition: work with us on this. It is too important for your petty politics.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016