Child Sexual Abuse

The majority voted in favour of a motion introduced by Greens Senator Rachel Siewert.

Motion text

That the Senate—

(a) recognises that:

(i) the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse released its report on Redress and civil litigation on 14 September 2015, and

(ii) the report recommended:

(A) the establishment of a single national redress scheme as preferable to state-based schemes,

(B) the institution in which the abuse occurred should fund redress,

(C) that state, territory and Commonwealth governments should act as funders of last resort, and

(D) that a single national redress scheme, or state-based schemes, should be in place by 1 July 2017;

(b) notes that:

(i) the Coalition has not yet committed to providing funding of last resort, and

(ii) less than a year from the recommended start date, there is no clear plan for national redress scheme; and

(c) calls on the Coalition to commit meaningfully to a national redress scheme, with the Commonwealth Government providing funding of last resort