DISSENTING REPORT BY COALITION SENATORS

1.1        Coalition senators oppose the key recommendation of the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee majority, namely that the Senate should not pass the Assisting Victims of Overseas Terrorism Bill 2012.

1.2        In the view of Coalition senators, this bill demonstrably addresses the urgent need for victims of terrorist acts committed overseas to be properly assisted to recover from the impact on their and their families' lives occasioned by these terrorist acts.

1.3        The bill is an important acknowledgement of the debt that this country owes to people who have been injured in the course of terrorist incidents overseas, including the high price that Australia has paid due to the activity, in particular, of Islamist terrorists. The bill proposes the establishment of a federal scheme, analogous to the state/territory victims-of-crime schemes, purely for Australian victims of overseas terrorist acts. It is a modest, responsible, and necessary measure by this parliament for the benefit of those people to whom our nation owes a special responsibility.

1.4        As Senator Brandis said when introducing this bill into the Senate:

We have to acknowledge the fact that these people have suffered for their country in a way not entirely different from the sufferings that our soldiers have faced in the struggle against terrorism. They were not random victims. They were victims because of the way of life of this country and they were chosen as targets because of the way of life of the civilisation in which we participate. We should not underestimate the ongoing suffering of those who were injured and of the families of those who were injured and killed.[1]

1.5        The legislation here was initially foreshadowed by the Leader of the Opposition, the Hon Tony Abbott MP, but it took some time for the Government to accept the need for action in this area and introduce its own legislation.  Coalition senators believe the spirit and intent of the Leader of the Opposition's initiative is better reflected in the Assisting Victims of Overseas Terrorism Bill 2012, and should therefore be supported by the Senate over the later bill introduced by the Government.

1.6        Coalition senators note the finding of the committee majority that 'if the Brandis Bill were to be passed in its current form, the parliament would be denied adequate input into the details of the proposed framework and would not have the opportunity to scrutinise the key details of this important reform prior to its implementation'. Nonetheless, Coalition senators believe that there are ample opportunities for public and parliamentary participation in the development of regulations which appropriately give flesh to Senator Brandis' vision of a scheme to assist the Australian victims of overseas terrorist attacks that is analogous with the victims-of-crimes schemes which have long operated in most of the Australian states and territories.

1.7        Coalition senators believe it is vital the Parliament take action to address the long-standing gap in Australian assistance schemes to help residents injured in this way, and strongly urge the Senate to address this by immediate passage of the Assisting Victims of Overseas Terrorism Bill 2012.  In the words of the Leader of the Opposition:

We must stand by our fellow Australians in trouble. They were targeted because they were Australian. They deserve this modest measure of recognition, help and acknowledgement...[2]

 

Senator Gary Humphries Deputy Chair

Senator Sue Boyce

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