Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has launched her most scathing criticism yet of the government after her attempts to hold a formal inquiry into the sexual abuse of Indigenous children were dismissed.
The country’s Liberal senator issued a direct video message to the Australian public explaining the outcome of the urgency motion she tabled in the Senate on Tuesday afternoon.
She said she had “never been so incredibly angry” in the 11-minute video, and at several stages held back tears as she described why this issue is so important to her.
During her call for the government and all courts to support a Royal Commission, Ms Price shared several real-life examples of First Nations children being sexually abused.
One of those stories involved her niece, who at age 15 was “beaten and raped by her own father.”
‘(She) suffered horrible abuse for years and at first tried to get support from family members who didn’t believe her… it wasn’t until my cousin took her to the police so she could file a complaint, and she got the chance. “I have incredible courage to be heard at the age of 17 and testify,” Mrs. Price said, fighting back tears.
The country’s Liberal senator issued a direct video message to the Australian public explaining the outcome of the urgency motion she tabled in the Senate on Tuesday afternoon.
“The judge in his case said the abuse had been prolonged, prolonged and involved the use of weapons.”
Price accused Labor senator Tim Ayres of downplaying his speech in an attempt to shut down his motion.
“I am horrified and disgusted,” she said.
‘Considering I shared those stories in my speech, for Senator Tim Ayres to proceed to mock Kamahl during the referendum in his speech was beyond words.
“How absolutely degrading to sit there and hear that, and witness that, and have a senator talk to you that way, after sharing those stories of abuse.”
The comments Ms Price refers to were made immediately after her own speech.
Ayres said: “Of course child sexual assault is abhorrent, and everyone in this place would condemn it.”
‘Like many of the interventions of the opposite, this has to do with politics and not with the solution. It is always about politics, never about a solution.
‘Having come to terms with what happened over the weekend, we will listen carefully and continue to act carefully and deliberately. “We will listen carefully to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.”
His comments about Kamahl – who changed his position on the referendum several times during the debate – were a direct comparison with opposition leader Peter Dutton’s apparent backtracking on his own commitment to holding a referendum on constitutional recognition.
‘He changed his mind more quickly and more frequently than Kamahl. “At least Kamahl is popular,” Mr. Ayres said.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Senator Ayres’ office for comment.
Price accused Labor senator Tim Ayres of downplaying his speech in an attempt to shut down his motion.
Price said he took Australia’s outright rejection of Indigenous Voice before Parliament in the October 14 referendum as a mandate to carry out this investigation.
She, along with the Coalition, is also seeking an audit of Indigenous Affairs spending, to stop the “rainbowl” approach that sees huge amounts of money poured into services that appear to do little to help those most in need.
Three indigenous senators; Price, Kerrynne Liddle and Lidia Thorpe joined forces in August to push the issue through the Senate, but narrowly failed.
“I think ignoring the indigenous children of this country who suffer, generation after generation, sexual abuse is absolutely abhorrent,” he said in his message to his fans.
But critics of the proposal said it was nothing more than an attempt by the Coalition to “demonise First Nations people” and a disingenuous move.
Greens senator Dorinda Cox said it will “dress up to demonize our communities and our culture, which has sustained us for tens of thousands of years”.
“Our people are hurting right now… and I know some people on the other side of the chamber don’t care.”
Premier Anthony Albanese and Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney acknowledged Voice’s defeat on Saturday night but vowed to continue working to improve the rights and lives of First Nations people.
Price also said she had been wrongly accused of having sinister motives for requesting such an investigation.
“One of those excuses that were given was that we are somehow playing politics with this issue,” he said.
‘Sure. I’m playing politics with the lives of my own family. Yes of course.’
She also said she was accused of “just wanting to do this to make Aboriginal men look bad”.
“It’s not about the perpetrators,” he said. ‘It’s really about the victims.
‘The victims we are talking about are indigenous children. I don’t care who the perpetrator is, as long as you deal with him. Or what race the damn perpetrator is.
‘What I know is that the vast majority of victims in this country are indigenous children. Why on earth shouldn’t they have the same opportunities as other children in this country? Why are their human rights not respected?
‘These are the voices, these are the children, that the Labor government has now denied. That to me is racism.
“I am absolutely disgusted.”
Price said that despite the setback – and disappointment – he would not stop pushing for these investigations to be carried out.
‘We will continue to fight, we will continue to hold this government accountable, because we truly want to improve the lives of the most marginalized.
“They prefer to protect the characters, the image of a group of people, instead of protecting the children.”
Ms Price’s emotional video attracted almost 2,000 comments and hundreds of shares within an hour of being uploaded.
Price also said she had been wrongly accused of having sinister motives for requesting such an investigation.