Wednesday, 30 July 2025

Public Accounts and Estimates Committee

Report on the 2024‒25 Budget Estimates

Nicole WERNER (Warrandyte) (10:29): I rise to speak on the 2024–25 budget estimates Public Accounts and Estimates Committee report, and I would like to refer you to section 7.5.1, where it speaks to the Commission for Children and Young People’s report. So this is the same commission that oversees the reportable conduct scheme regulator and is the same one that Labor refused to capture in their independent review.

Where do you begin? It is such a serious matter, yet the members opposite laugh at the matter at hand. I remember seeing the news break about this alleged paedophile abusing children. Over 70 offences he has been accused of against children between the ages of five months and three years old. My baby was five months old when I read that, when that news broke. To say it horrified me is to say the least. It has kept me up at night, and I know that it has kept other people in this chamber up at night reading these articles, poring over the news stories, poring over the details of things that you simply cannot fathom, you cannot make sense of, and I do not think you ever could. When you read about these atrocities that were committed against children, when you read about what has been done, it is sickening, to say the least.

I have been speaking to women, young mums in my community, who have since decided to quit their jobs, to give up their careers so they can stay at home to look after their children. I was speaking to a young, first-time mum in my community just last night, and she said, ‘I have decided to give up my career and I know that we are actually going to be broke as a result of it. We are going to have to be poor, but I would rather my baby be safe, even if that is going to cost us being poor.’ That is what she said to me. That is how serious and how incredibly devastating all of this news is that we have had to bear witness to. I think it is just the most deplorable thing that we have to go through, that we have to help people go through testing their children, their babies, for STDs. My heart breaks for every one of the families that has had to go through this, that has had to test their babies, that has had to front up to the fact that their child, their baby, has been abused by an alleged paedophile. Our heart breaks for you.

As soon as that news came out, as soon as that knowledge was known, this side of the house, the coalition, we acted. We called on the government to recall Parliament, because nothing was more serious and nothing was more urgent than protecting our babies, protecting our children. So what we did was we called on the government. We said, ‘We are happy to work constructively. We are happy to work with you. We are happy to recall Parliament so that we can protect our children.’

Members interjecting.

Nicole WERNER: You can interject all that you like, but it is serious. On this side of the house, we are serious about reform. We are serious about wanting to bring change here. When we asked them to recall Parliament, they said no. Instead what happened was we heard from that side of the house –

Belinda Wilson: On a point of order, Acting Speaker, whilst the member for Warrandyte is speaking about a very, very serious –

Cindy McLeish: Point of order being?

Belinda Wilson: Relevance. I am concerned about which committee report she is talking about as we are in the midst of committee reports.

Cindy McLeish: On the point of order, the member on her feet, the member for Warrandyte, very clearly outlined the connection between her speech and –

Belinda Wilson interjected.

Cindy McLeish: She did. At the start, she told you which section, which committee report that she was talking to, which page and the reference to the Commissioner for Children and Young People.

The ACTING SPEAKER (Daniela De Martino): I will rule on this. The member for Warrandyte did indicate which committee report this was linked to. Member for Warrandyte to continue, but please keep the connection to the committee report.

Nicole WERNER: Absolutely. Thank you, Acting Speaker. It speaks to the Commission for Children and Young People’s report. I again refer you to section 7.5.1. Have a look.

This then prompted from that side of the house a review of a review, a review that then excluded this very regulator, this very commissioner, in this very report that I speak to, and that – (Time expired)