Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services
The Hon Dr Daniel Mulino MP
Attorney-General
The Hon Michelle Rowland MP
E&OE
Subjects: Introduction of legislation allowing access to offenders' super for victims and survivors of child sexual abuse
DANIEL MULINO: Thanks for all being here and it's wonderful to be here with such as significant group of people to support a measure that has been a long time in the coming, to close off a loophole that's being used in really inappropriate and terrible ways. Can I first just make a couple of acknowledgments before very briefly describing the measure that I'm about to introduce in parliament today. Firstly, can I acknowledge the victim survivors who are here and their advocates, and to say that this is a measure that wouldn't be where it is today without your courage, your insights and your advocacy over a long period of time. In large part, this is a reflection of your experiences and your resilience but also your hard work. So can I pay tribute to all of the victim survivors who are here and we will hear from a couple of them later.
Can I also acknowledge my ministerial colleagues, Michelle Rowland, the Attorney-General, and Ged Kearney, the Assistant Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence. We have a number of people from right across the parties. Can I acknowledge a couple of people from my caucus, Louise Miller-Frost and Kristy McBain who have championed this issue for a long time. There are a lot of other members of my caucus, and apologies by not being able to mention everybody by name. But for those two people in particular have really connected with this issue.
From the Opposition, my counterpart Kevin Hogan and Pat Conaghan who have both been very interested in this issue over a long period of time. David Shoebridge from the Greens, and a number of crossbenchers. So, there are so many people from right across the board. And I think the fact that we have a range of people from across the political spectrum here reflects the nature of this issue.
So, today we are closing a loophole. Where there has been the perpetration of child abuse and the perpetrator has a valid court order against them but has shielded assets by putting them in their superannuation account and declaring bankruptcy in a cynical and contrived way, through this measure, victims will be able to access the additional contributions that have been made into that account. This is a very significant measure which will provide significant additional support for victim survivors in that circumstance.
Can I say that after the exposure draft of this measure went out, we have strengthened it in a number of ways. We have expanded the scope of the contributions that were included. We have included DB accounts in some circumstances, and they are very welcome means and again a reflection of the advocacy of a number of people here have undertaken.
Can I say there are a number of issues which do require further consideration and further work. And that's something which a number of victim survivors and advocates have raised with me. We will have a review of this measure after a period of time to see how it is operating, but also to consider ways in which we can strengthen this measure. So that's something which the government is committing to. There are ways in which we will explore strengthening it. But today, a measure that was committed to in principle in 2018, and we have people here today have been advocating for this measure for almost a decade. We are now seeing it delivered. And this is a really big step forward and something that I'm very proud to have been a part of. So with that I will hand over to the Attorney-General.
MICHELLE ROWLAND: Thank you so much Assistant Treasurer. And good morning, everyone. As my colleague said, it is a real pleasure and it is a great privilege to be here amongst people who have fought so hard to have these measures legislated and today will be the fruition of all of their efforts. Can I also note that again this has been an issue that has been championed across the parliament. But to reiterate, one of the reasons why I am here from my capacity as the Attorney General is because this is a whole of government effort to address family and sexual violence. And to legislate where necessary to ensure that loopholes like this are closed.
So you all know, child abuse is an abhorrent crime and it's committed by vile perpetrators against our most vulnerable and I think what this loophole demonstrates is the way in which these pernicious individuals, the lengths that they will go in order to shield themselves and try and ensure that they are not made liable for compensation in these cases. So as my colleague said, the Treasury Laws amendment, very aptly also called The Survivors Law bill 2026 will ensure that child sexual abusers can't avoid paying court ordered compensation to their victims.
This is a really crucial change, and the Government's reforms put perpetrators on notice with the clear message that child sex predators must not be able to game the system. Victim-survivors, as we know, and we have many of them here and I thank them for their courage they know and they deserve a real enforceable justice system and that is precisely what we are seeking to deliver with this measure.
They do build upon already tough state and commonwealth laws to ensure that those who commit these horrific crimes face the toughest possible penalties. And I think importantly as I talk about how this is a whole-of-government effort, these laws complement our government's recent family law reforms to help make the system simpler and safer for children and families.
Victim-survivors, as we've heard have long advocated for this change and we've been working extremely hard across the parliament and as a government to get here today.
So our message to victim-survivors is clear; we see you, we hear you and we have your back and this is demonstrated by this bill being introduced today.
EDAN VAN HAREN: My name's Edan Van Haren. I am a survivor of Maurice Van Ryn. As a survivor of child abuse, I stand here not just for myself but for every child who hasn't found their voice yet. This is not just a personal issue; this is a community responsibility.
As a parent, it's starts with you. Teach your children what abuse actually looks like. Make it clear that speaking up will never get them in trouble. It will protect them. They need to know that they will be believed, supported, and safe.
As a friend, your role is simple. Don't dismiss, don't question, support them, sometimes being heard is all that's needed just to save a life.
As a country we need to do better. We need stronger laws and we need longer sentences for offenders. They must have real consequences for the lies that they destroy. It takes us all and it starts with these laws. Thank you. (applause)
KEN STEELE: Let me start by saying in 2017 I first brought this matter forward because we discovered that Maurice Van Ryn was using these loopholes to not only avoid having to pay the civil compensation, but also threatening the use of the court system to cause further damage to the children and then thumbing his nose and saying therefore that any court judgment that is made will not be payable. So I got a petition from 22,000 people, and that was brought here to this House in March 2018 and presented to Kelly O'Dwyer. And I remember Kelly saying to us I had Hettie Johnston with me from Bravehearts, and I had Howard Brown from victims' advocates. And she said, Kelly how do you not just go so angry? And we all said we channel that energy into what we do. And this is what we do. These people that stand with me here, we put our energy into making real change. And I am so proud to be here, almost 10 years later, seeing this legislation go through. Thank you all. (applause)
MADELEINE WEST: I don't have anything prepared but I would just like to reflect. Pope Francis once said you can judge the health of a society by the way it treats its children and to this day, we have failed our children time and time again. This isn't a political issue, this speaks to our humanity, and this law demonstrates what I feel is the most potent demonstration of mankind's progress, evolution, and that is kindness. Mankind evolves when man is kind, and this law demonstrates that we are being kind to those who have suffered. One in three girls, one in five boys. In any room if you look to your left and your right, one of you amongst you are carrying an amount of burden of blame and shame for something that was done to you that was never your fault. we know the most prolific predators are those who have money and have influence because they can manipulate, they can access. This law is a prevention. It is not enough to seek to cure after the fact. We need to prevent this crime, and if that means threatening to hit people where it hurts most -in the hip pocket - we might just prevent one more person who has this heinous predilection to damage children, to leave them carrying around the scars of trauma for the rest of their life, to think twice. So we thank all of your for supporting us. (applause)
ANDREW CARPENTER: Firstly, the biggest thing is it takes a village to raise a child, but it obviously takes the entire community and the Australian public to stamp out child sexual abuse. Now, this law change was designed to act as a deterrent to make sure that this does not happen. We are seeing in South Australia on average 25 per cent a day of matters in the District Court of South Australia being related to child sexual abuse. Now, this is something that people have been living in silence and shame. A great man once said one of the biggest weapons of an offender is the silence and shame of the victim survivors. This change is something that is going to open Australians up to saying that if you abuse a child you will lose everything. It's going to cause people to think, to act. It is going to prevent action and one thing is, it is going to relieve the Australian taxpayer of the sins of these offenders who they pass on their crimes to. There is an amazing group of support here from people. Thank you to all the brave victim-survivors. Thank you to Dr Mulino. Thank you to Dan Nolan and the team for always making sure they highlight this cause. Today is an opening of the door for something that is much bigger. We are looking forward to working with this team to kick that door in to make sure that all superannuation is some day available to all victim survivors, no matter if it is a criminal conviction or a civil judgment. Thank you to everyone involved to actually being on the side of the children and being on the side of the victim survivors. (applause)
DANIEL MULINO: Thank you very much to all of those who have spoken, and I think through their contributions it is clear the courage that is on display here today and the courage and the resilience over a long period of time that has brought us here today. So with that I'm opening up now to any questions.
JOURNALIST: How long has it taken to get to this point?
DANIEL MULINO: Well, I think if we go back to 2018, there was a commitment by a previous government to deliver this but we are now here. So this is a measure which is being delivered after almost a decade of having been committed to. So I think today is a big day. And we have been working very hard over the last six months with the people who are standing around here today to make sure that we get this right. And as I say, the work is not finished today, we will continue working on ways to strengthen this over time. But we want to put this into place now. We want to see the passage of the bill this year so that we can make sure that a number of people who need the benefit of this bill as a matter of urgency can benefit from its provisions.
JOURNALIST: You mentioned the idea there of strengthening the bill at some time in the future. What are some of the ways that this bill could change in the future?
DANIEL MULINO: So, look, the main areas that we will be looking at down the track after this bill has been in operation for a period of time is whether we can include some civil findings. That is an area that is very complex though. And so what we didn't want to see happen was today being delayed for a long period of time in order to fully work through all of those issues. Again. I think the better outcome is that we get today, there are a lot of people who are going to be able to benefit, and we will be able to look at that particular situation over time.
JOURNALIST: And then maybe a question to one of the advocates or one of the survivors, I suppose, the same kind of question, how long has this been in the works for and is it a relief to see this kind of change today?
Adam Washbourne: Yeah, look we have been working with David for 10 years on this. We have been emailing, we have been agitating, we've been calling, and to see it come fruition after being promised back in 2018 and then no idea what happened there, but whatever happened happened. But now it is over the line. And, you know, as we have spoken about, we will be agitating for more change. We will be trying to get it for civil decisions. We understand how difficult that is a legislative point of view. We will also be trying to get it retrospective so it can be applied to past cases as well.
But, look our work's not done by a long shot. Not on this law and not on the other laws that need tightening [indistinct]. We are not done, but I tell you what, today is a great day for us.
JOURNALIST: This particular kind of crime carries with it a huge weight on people's minds. This kind of change, it doesn't change what's happened in the past but is there a lightening of the load knowing that there is the change in place.
SPEAKER: There absolutely is a lightening of the load. And it's not about trying to erase the past or change the past It's not about money grabbing for survivors, it's just not. It's not what it's about even slightly. It's about a sense of justice; it's about a sense of right and wrong. What was done to these victim-survivors is wrong, it's evil, it's abhorrent and for the perpetrators to be able to hide their assets and literally thumb their nose at their victim survivors and say, 'you'll get nothing because my money is hidden'. It's just insane in a modern, civilised world. And so to fix that loophole is huge, absolutely gigantic step forward. But it's not about money. And it's also about deterrence. It we can stop one child, just one, if someone looks at their potential future and says maybe I won't do that, then it's all worth it. 10 years of work just to stop one child from being abused, is definitely worth every second.
SPEAKER: Dr Mulino, are you open to retrospectively or considering that?
DANIEL MULINO: What I would say is that there are elements of this bill that do look back. So this is about convictions that have occurred in the past and where there have been orders that are still in operation. But I would just point again to the fact that the exposure draft legislation saw a lot of consultation. And as I have pointed out, with a lot of the people standing behind me. And as a result of that consultation, we have extended the period of additional contributions so that it goes back now up to 10 years before the criminal conviction. So that's a significant step forward in the bill, and I think that was a result of consultation with people here and beyond. Thank you very much.
