According to Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese disregarded evidence that was sent to him last year that victims of child sexual assault were being sent back to live with their perpetrators.
Mr. Albanese responded “no” when asked at 7.30 if Mr. Dutton’s assertion was accurate.
When questioned about whether he was made aware of any information regarding abused children being sent back to live with their abusers, Mr. Albanese responded, “Not that I’m aware of. I’ve never heard of it before.
The opposition leader said it was “accepted as normal practice” that young Indigenous abuse victims were sent back to live with their abusers during a press conference last week in Alice Springs.
The prime minister “was made aware of it last year,” according to Mr. Dutton, and should “take responsibility.”
Peter Dutton makes all kinds of assertions, according to Mr. Albanese on 7.30. The difficulty in this situation is that severe matters like child abuse, which Peter Dutton, myself, and I would hope every member of parliament abhors uniformly, shouldn’t be turned into a political issue.
When asked what Mr. Dutton’s allegation might be founded on, Mr. Albanese replied, “I have no idea of what it is based upon.”
There might have been a letter somewhere, it’s plausible. I’m not sure what the underlying principle is.
Mr. Albanese responded more widely to Mr. Dutton’s allegations about the prevalence of child sexual abuse in the Northern Territory, saying: “The police should look into these. It is illegal to abuse children under any conditions. And neither a politician nor a bureaucrat should look into it. The police need to look into crimes.
Mr. Albanese said “yes” when asked if the solicitor general’s opinion on the phrasing of the referendum question on the Voice to Parliament would be made public.
When asked to clarify how that would occur, he responded, “Through the processes that will be determined by the attorney-general.”
He stated that the nature of the advice would be made public, but that the solicitor-general’s specific recommendations were often kept to the cabinet.
The attorney-general is the proper channel for the solicitor-general to express his opinion, which he will do with great clarity.
Mr. Albanese gave no timing guarantees.
You’ll need to exercise patience.
