Page 1852 - Week 05 - Thursday, 16 May 2019
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Mr Milligan: It is the truth, though.
MS STEPHEN-SMITH: I am not suggesting that Mr Milligan should not have contributed to this debate and that Mr Milligan should not have expressed his concern about the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people in our child protection system. It is a concern we all share and it is something that we are working on very hard with the community, led by the community, led by the self-determined process in Our Booris, Our Way. We will continue that work.
I absolutely believe it is Mr Milligan’s duty as shadow minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs to comment on these matters. But the tone of his contribution today completely contradicted the tripartisan way that Mrs Kikkert, Ms Le Couteur and I have worked together, and our offices have worked together, to bring this matter to the chamber—a matter that we all agree on, a matter that we all agree should be considered by the committee. I wanted to express my deep disappointment about the mode in which Mr Milligan expressed himself and the continued misinformation that he is spreading to the community.
MR COE (Yerrabi—Leader of the Opposition) (3.52): I think that what Minister Stephen-Smith just said is pretty ordinary. What comments like that seek to do is deter members from making contributions to future debates. What comments like that do is intimidate members into not contributing to very important discussions, such as the one that we are having right now. For her to say that Mr Milligan’s tone was somehow offensive is absolutely wrong. What was wrong with the tone and what was wrong with the content?
MADAM ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ms Orr): Mr Coe, we are debating the question. We are not debating Ms Stephen-Smith’s comments—
MR COE: We are having a debate here. Ms Stephen-Smith has made comments. I am responding to her comments. That is what a debate is. I think it was totally inappropriate for her to criticise Mr Milligan’s contribute to this debate. Mr Milligan’s tone was absolutely fine. His content was factual. All he is doing is advocating for our community. He has been a tireless advocate for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community. It has been recognised by many people in our community, including your former chief minister Jon Stanhope, that he is doing a great job. I think we would be well served to have a minister who is as passionate about this issue as Mr Milligan is.
MS LAWDER (Brindabella) (3.54): I commend Mrs Kikkert for bringing this motion to the Assembly today. It is heartwarming and reassuring to see that the minister’s office, Ms Le Couteur’s office and Mrs Kikkert’s office have worked together to get a good outcome today. But I think perhaps what the minister has missed is that many of us have been in this place over many years debating similar points. I was the shadow minister at the time of the Glanfield report. Without casting any aspersions, Mrs Dunne has been around for quite a long time and has encountered these issues,
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