Page 836 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 20 March 2019
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MR GENTLEMAN: Yes, certainly. I will take that on notice.
MRS JONES: Minister, are you satisfied that all staff within ESA are receiving the necessary support and information from their leadership in order to fulfil their roles?
MR GENTLEMAN: I am very confident in the leadership in ESA. ESA do a fantastic job for the territory. Canberrans feel safe around Canberra and ESA are doing a great job in ensuring that we have a safe community. Whether it is in regard to preparing for bushfires, whether it is doing fuel load reduction, whether it is doing ambulance paramedic work, Canberrans feel very safe.
Childhood sexual abuse—government support for victims
MS CHEYNE: My question is to the Attorney-General. Attorney, how is the government’s new criminal legislation strengthening our ability to hold people who abuse children responsible?
MR RAMSAY: I thank Ms Cheyne for the question. Ensuring the protection of children now and in the future is our top priority. The royal commission gave us a detailed account of our collective failure to protect children and a road map to prevent the failings into the future. We have to acknowledge our collective failures to protect children in the past and take responsibility for protecting them in the future.
A core part of our work is to ensure that the criminal justice system responds strongly and effectively when a child is harmed. Last year this government delivered legislation to ensure that the courts are able to take account of witness testimony about ongoing and historic abuse. We also changed our sentencing laws to ensure that where people had access to children because of their good reputation, that reputation cannot be used to mitigate a sentence.
Our criminal laws have also gone further. Last year we introduced a new crime for people who are in positions of authority over children and who knowingly fail to protect them from sexual abuse. That crime was an important acknowledgment that we have a responsibility not only to respond when children are abused but also to take steps to protect them in the first place.
I am proud to say that this government introduced a new criminal law that recognises our shared responsibility to report abuse. The royal commission showed conclusively that a culture of silence in institutions exposed our children to horrendous and repeated abuse. Following the passage of the legislation yesterday, all Canberrans will have a legal duty to report abuse to police. Our laws will support a culture of reporting and, when abuse is reported, offenders will be held responsible.
MS CHEYNE: Attorney, what are some ways that the government is demonstrating to survivors in Canberra that their reports of crime will be treated respectfully and pursued vigorously?
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