I return to this chamber today after giving birth to my baby boy. I am here on a day of power and I am here on a day of ager. There are women outside this building, there are women and men all around this country and in my electorate, and they are furious. I honour them by bringing their voices into this chamber.

I hear you. I believe you. We must change. This place—our culture and our secrecy—has failed the women of this country. We have failed the women who have been raped, assaulted and marginalised. This is not a political problem to be managed away for the evening news. It doesn’t matter which party we represent; we must change and we must do more.

Prime Minister, I say to you: you are the most powerful person in this place. You should be leading the change. If you think you’ve done enough, you could not be more mistaken. If you could listen to Brittany Higgins speak out there and think you’ve done what needed to be done, you could not be more mistaken. Change is coming. You should be leading it. If you don’t, if you can’t get with what needs to happen in this country, the women here and the women outside will change it for you.

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