Mr BAYLEY (Clark) - Mr Speaker, this is the first time I rise to talk about the commission of inquiry, so I need to take the opportunity to acknowledge the victims/survivors and their courage in coming forward with their stories and forcing this commission of inquiry; and not only the victims/survivors but their supporters, whistleblowers and other advocates. There is a range of victims/survivors who could not find the capacity, or did not want to engage in this process, and we must acknowledge them as well.
Then there are the victims who did not survive. We know that this unspeakable abuse is such that some people can no longer live with their experiences and, sadly, they are no longer with us. I take the opportunity also to acknowledge their pain and the fact that their loss has impacted on so many people.
I also take the opportunity to acknowledge the commissioners and their support staff and administrative staff. This must have been a harrowing experience for them as individuals as well, and no amount of counselling and support can protect and provide for the experience that they must have gone through. I acknowledge them as well.
I want to raise the notion of collective responsibility. It has been spoken about in parliament here today, and it comes from the Premier's comments yesterday and again today. Reading from the Premier's statement yesterday, I note that he says:
As a parliament, we must share the commitment to work together to ensure we make the changes to protect children in this state that endure for all time. Our actions must give meaning to this report, and they must reflect the hope that I have, even on this dark day, for a better future for Tasmania's children, and a better future for our state.
We can all echo that sentiment. Of course, we stand here ready to work to better this state, to provide safety for children; but the reality is, there is only one side of this House that has the capacity to take the action that is required. That is, of course, the Government and the ministers responsible. For those of us on the other side of the House, the responsibility we shoulder in relation to this burden is holding the Government to account. We have to hold the Government to account, scrutinise its response to this commission of inquiry, scrutinise the amount of money it is investing in it, and make sure that they do the job that they said they are doing.
I pick up on the point in relation to that, when the Premier said, 'even on this dark day'. I am sure if you are a victim/survivor or a victim, the dark day was not yesterday when this commission of inquiry report was tabled. The dark days were those long and lonely days of abuse suffered in Ashley, in our schools, in out-of-home care, and the like.
In reality, yesterday was a day of light where, finally, for those victims/survivors some light was shone on their scenario, sometimes in explicit detail that is very difficult to read. I want to point out that yesterday was a day of revelation and, ultimately - let us hope - a day of action, because if we don't want those dark days to be repeated over and over again, we must implore our Government to take action and step up and take responsibility.
One of the things I heard yesterday in talking to victims/survivors and their advocates, in the opportunities that were presented to us as members to engage with them, was that there were lots of words and nothing of substance. There were articulations of action, there were plans for action, there were promises to change - but they heard a lot of words. The only way that those victims/survivors are going to get the accountability and the action that they see is by the Government stepping up to the plate and taking responsibility and us, as the Opposition members and the crossbench, holding them to account.
I note another comment by the Premier today, and this is one that I broadly welcome. In his commentary, the Premier said:
We are as committed to remaining as open, transparent and accountable as we move forward with these changes.
Often on these speeches, they say, check Hansard on delivery. I noted yesterday that the Premier omitted from the speech that was delivered to us the words 'as possible' - 'We are committed to remaining as open, transparent, and accountable as possible as we move forward with these changes.' He omitted 'as possible' and I read that as a positive thing. I read that as a commitment that he was taking weasel words out of his speech and he was giving an ironclad guarantee on transparency, accountability and being open. This goes to the point that the Greens have been raising over and over again in the context of yesterday's release of the report, and that is the ability for this parliament to properly scrutinise the Government's response.
We are going to have a budget, a supplementary appropriation bill, presented to us that will fund the measures that the Government intends to implement. We need to know explicit detail, line by line, what is going to be invested in. If the Government can prepare a budget, if the Government can land on a figure, they must know what they are going to spend it on and we must be told.
The second thing is, if the Government is not going to deliver their response to this commission of inquiry report until 4 December, after the sitting year has concluded prior to Christmas, the parliament deserves an opportunity to scrutinise it. We must scrutinise that report and that response.
