Mrs DRAPER (11:28 AM) —Firstly, I commend the member for Canberra for her remarks in relation to ASCA. I do join with her in congratulating ASCA and particularly Liz Mullinar for the work that they do in the area of child sexual abuse.

Earlier this week I spoke in this place on a very serious matter. As many members of the coalition would already be aware, last Thursday night I was arrested at the Tea Tree Plaza shopping centre at Modbury, in my electorate of Makin. I was handcuffed and thrown into a specially constructed gaol cell for the evening, charged with loitering with intent to raise funds for Bluey Day—that is, cancer research for kids—but refusing to have my head shaved for this most worthy cause. The organisers of this event decided in their wisdom that, because of my status as a politician, they would probably raise more money by asking members of the public to donate to keep me behind bars rather than have me released, which they promptly did. And I can report to the House that donate they did.

During my stay in the gaol cell, Mr Peter Rogers, from 42nd Street Cafe at Tea Tree Plaza, not only had his head and moustache shaved to raise money for kids with cancer but also volunteered to have his legs waxed—in full view of the public. Of course, never having had his legs waxed before, he did not know what to expect. The beautician decided that it was an opportunity to experiment in torture techniques—that is, what the effect would be if she waxed very slowly or sometimes quickly.

Volunteers from the crowd were asked to participate in the process of shaving Mr Rogers's head, which many of Peter's customers did with glee. My arresting officer offered to release me for a short time so that I might have the opportunity to have a go, so to speak. It was interesting to note that once I actually had the shaver in my hand, Mr Peter Rogers immediately declared that at the last federal election he had voted for me. He also declared to the large crowd assembled that I was a wonderful, hardworking member of parliament for the constituents of Makin. I responded by thanking him and reassuring him that I had very good skills in this area, as I had often had to shave very delicate areas while I was a theatre nurse in the Navy, as well as having learnt to shear sheep in my youth. However, I did ask if anybody would be willing to donate more money if I accidentally shaved off an ear or two.

The only way that the police would agree to release me from gaol would be that I first matched the public donations raised that night—over $2,000. I got on the phone immediately to my parliamentary colleagues in order to raise bail money, and I am pleased to report, Mr Deputy Speaker, that my Liberal and National Party colleagues—you among them—have been very generous so far.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank not only the members of the public who supported Mr Peter Rogers in raising money for kids with cancer, but also Peter's family and many friends. I thank also all of my coalition colleagues, Liberal and National Party members, who not only supported a very worthy cause but also supported my release from gaol. I appreciate it very much and I can assure all the members it is much appreciated by the children who have cancer.

Sometimes members of the public feel that members of parliament are too busy to care about things other than their immediate constituency or parliamentary work, but I would like to assure the electorates in Australia that politicians do care about a wide range of issues, particularly those affecting children and families. May I thank all of my coalition colleagues for their generous support for research for kids with cancer.