Retiring Labor MP Stephen Jones has revealed he is a survivor of child sexual abuse in his farewell speech to parliament.
Jones reflected on the achievements of the governments he had served in his valedictory address, including the establishment of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse by former prime minister Julia Gillard in 2012.
The four-year inquiry received more than 1000 individual contributions, held 8000 private sessions, and received 26,000 letters and emails which led to more than 2500 referrals to police.
Jones said the royal commission allowed survivors to share their experiences, which was an important step because “for decades the victims had been denied; their stories, if ever told, were contested and they were told they were not true”.
“We often speak in this place of strength and weakness,” he said.
“We reduce those concepts of strength to mean power over others. I think there’s another kind of strength.
“It’s the strength that comes from the things that you overcome and the strength that knows it’s more important to do things with and for people than to them.
“The royal commission was a really painful experience for survivors but a necessary piece of truth-telling and reconciliation.
“Survivors, including me, appreciate it – a point I’ve never disclosed because I didn’t want to be defined by it and because I didn’t want to detract attention from those who unlike me didn’t have a voice and didn’t have access to power to tell their story.
“There is power in being seen, being heard and being believed.”
He has not publicly revealed his plans for retirement.
Jones said he was proud of his role in the 2017 same-sex marriage plebiscite, the rollout of NBN and his work on gambling ad reform.
“Together over 15 years, we have achieved many things,” Jones said last month.
“We have connected every home and business to the NBN.
“We have established a National Disability Insurance Scheme.
“We are building new infrastructure for new suburbs, and we are restoring Medicare.
“I am proud of the role I played in progressing marriage equality and gambling ad reform in my early years.
“I am also proud of the work we have done to secure the future of our steel industry, to rebuild TAFE and as assistant treasurer, fighting scams, protecting workers superannuation, making financial advice more accessible and affordable, and strengthening consumer protections for all Australians.”
