Senator McDONALD (Queensland) (15:48): Today I'm reflecting on how proud I felt joining this Senate 18 months ago, joining this august body whose role it is, quite rightly, to provide balance in government, to be a house of review. For the opposition, their role in that process is to hold the government to account. Yet today, in front of my colleagues, in front of the children here, I feel ashamed. I feel ashamed in my heart and my stomach at the politicisation of such matters with real humans at the heart of them, with the lack of respect at the heart of them. There is appropriately a place for the opposition to ask questions, but this ongoing caravan, this circus performance, this confected outrage would go on and on. So many in this place, others who have had experiences of such sexual attacks, of rape, who are both here and in the other place and right around Australia, have this matter compounded— An honourable senator interjecting— Senator McDONALD: I'm sorry, would you like to speak up or would you like to speak while I'm speaking? The DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Senator McDonald, I remind you to direct your remarks to the chair, and I will manage the Senate if it becomes disorderly, thank you. Senator McDONALD: Thank you, Deputy President. I pay the respect of listening quietly whilst other people speak and I would ask for that same respect. The DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Yes, you're entitled to that. Senator McDONALD: Respect is at the heart of this matter. So many in this place and the other, so many around Australia, who have experienced matters such as this, who are reliving it are being retriggered by the continued and compounded actions of the opposition. People in this community who listen to what happens in this chamber have moved from watching the appropriate questions of the opposition to a creeping sense of horror at the politicisation and the continued abuse of not just this woman but of others, and the absence of respect. It is not the role of the opposition to act like investigator and judge and jury. It surprises me, because the opposition has made quite a deal of calling for an increased number of women to come to politics and into this place yet it is our role to provide something different, something additional in coming into this place. A sense of compassion, a sense of the human element, is so incredibly important and that has tragically been lost, as I said, in this ongoing compounding of the abuse of not just this woman but of any other person who has suffered a sexual assault. I feel deeply ashamed to sit here and be a part of this performance. We all agree that every workplace should be a place of safety, that every person should have the confidence to come forward, to report any such allegations of incidents, yet I think we have done irreparable damage because every person who has suffered at the hands of such an attack must now be wondering: is this going to happen to me? Am I going to be paraded through the streets for some political benefit? This is now a matter for the appropriate people to investigate, for the police to investigate. There is a deep determination, I'm sure, from all who work in this place, to ensure that we do change, that we do improve, that we do build a culture where there is an independent reporting process. The Prime Minister— (Time expired)