SARAH WITTY, MEMBER FOR MELBOURNE: Hi, I'm Sarah Witty. I'm the federal member for Melbourne, and it's good to be here today on Child Protection Week. As a foster carer, I know firsthand what it's like for children in care who through no fault of their own to have to deal with child protection. If you're a family with just two kids in your care of two children, you might know that one of the children in their classes will be dealing with child protection.
There are currently around about 137,000 children interacting with child protection. Almost 38,000 of them are due to maltreatment, and 45,000 of them are in out-of-home care. We know that there are many reasons why children find themselves in child protection, including maltreatment, but also domestic violence is one of the main factors. That is why I'm proud that this government is working on making sure to stop domestic violence. Assistant Minister Kearney and the Special Envoy for Men's Health, Dan Repacholi, are doing roundtables around the country, listening to stakeholders and doing what they can to stop domestic violence.
We know that cost of living pressures can also put children and parents over the edge and children into difficult situations. That's why this government is focused on many different cost of living measures. It's also important that children are protected online. I've seen what happens to children when they're not looked after in real life, but online is also an issue. So this week, I look forward to passing some of that legislation that we bring forward. Thanks. I'd like to pass over now to the Assistant Minister.
PATRICK GORMAN, ASSISTANT MINISTER TO THE PRIME MINISTER: Thank you very much, Sarah. It is great to have someone like Sarah, who is such a strong advocate for Australia's children, in the Parliament. And I thank the people of Melbourne for sending her here.
One of the things that Sarah just said that we are going to do this week is push to make sure that the eSafety Commissioner has the powers that they need. To make sure that we can level the playing field and take action to support young Australians.
And make sure that where companies, these big multinational tech companies, want to play in Australia, they play by Australian rules. For too long, these companies have thought that they are above the law, and this Parliament is going to send a strong message this week that no company is above the law, especially not the tech companies.
One of the things that we have also done in the Parliament - a year ago since we last came here - was the important work we did to protect penalty rates and to ensure people had the Right to Disconnect. That passed this Parliament a year ago, and I will remind every Australian that Labor made it happen, and those in the Coalition and their governing mates in One Nation opposed these initiatives.
Now, when it comes to the proposal we have seen in the papers today about superannuation, I don't think when it comes to superannuation, you can trust the Coalition and their mates in One Nation. Who, when they were last in government, delayed increasing the superannuation guarantee from nine to twelve per cent. They also had low wage growth as a deliberate design feature of their economic agenda.
Now, what we know is that with this plan from Senator Hanson and her mates in the Coalition, is they are going to give with one hand and take with the other. They want to put minimum wages down. They oppose protecting penalty rates.
So the reality is, under this plan that they have put forward, working Australians will not see a single extra cent in their pocket.
JOURNALIST: People will see an extra $44 a week, though. That's better than a five-dollar week tax break, isn't it?
GORMAN: Well, what people will see is this is just this is part of the full suite of policies that One Nation has put forward. Now, what One Nation has said they will do in coalition with the Liberal Party and the National Party is they will oppose increases to the minimum wage and they will wind back the protection for penalty rates.
If you rip the penalty rates off everyone who just worked on Sunday; they are not going to get more money in their pocket. They will get less. And this is also very temporary. You take away from people's retirement, and they end up retiring with less. It is so simple.
JOURNALIST: On the home front, a bid to from a US firm to take over Austal as well. What's your reaction to that?
GORMAN: Oh well, look, I know that they have been looking for a buyer for this for a range of time. I recognise that there are a range of different interested parties. Obviously, there are important requirements when it comes to how that transaction happens. I am going to be cautious about it, other than to say Austal in Henderson in Western Australia, their Western Australian-based piece do incredibly important work in helping us build the naval shipbuilding effort that we need for the next generation.
JOURNALIST: Would you be disappointed to see that fall into American hands?
GORMAN: Look, I recognise that there are probably a range of different bidders. I am not going to get into commentary on a private transaction, other than to say we will expect that Australia's requirements when it comes to foreign transactions are upheld when it comes to their Australian business, and of course we recognise the importance of Australian business and what they do in Henderson.