Bert Van Manen (Forde, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Fowler for his motion to recognise that White Ribbon Day is important. It is not just symbolic; there is a genuine reason for it. It is a recognition and acknowledgement of the fact that there are still major issues in many countries and societies, including our own, with respect to violence against women. As with all of these types of programs, the important thing is that we change society’s attitudes. We can talk a lot about stopping violence against women, but as men we need to stand up in the community and change our attitudes. A lot of words are spoken at times about these issues. But it is not about the words; it is about the actual actions that are taken.

There are groups in my electorate like MADD and, whilst they are focused on parents with drug problems, a lot of the women that they take care of are victims of domestic violence, whether it be sexual, financial or physical. The problems that pervade our society with respect to domestic violence cause enormous damage. In my career in financial services I have seen the destructive effects of that firsthand as clients have gone through divorce and separation for a variety of reasons. The financial and emotional consequences for the family are very destructive. It takes enormous amounts of time—and in some cases many years—for the family to recover from the effects of those situations.

As I said earlier, it is about us as men changing our attitudes and our behaviours to drive real change. By and large, men are the primary perpetrators of violence towards women. There is some discussion about violence towards men as well, but this campaign is focused on violence towards women. We as men are responsible for looking after our households. We are the primary provider. It is our responsibility to take care of our wives and take care of our children. That is what sets the tone and solidifies the family unit in order to move forward. That solidity makes families the basic building blocks of our community. The opportunity for Australian men to be involved in the My Oath campaign is an opportunity for men to stand up and say, ‘I wish to be counted.’ It is an opportunity to say, ‘I’m not going to tolerate violence, I’m not going to undertake it myself and I’m also going to hold other men accountable for the way they treat their wives and children.’

The cost of domestic violence in our community is a stark reality. I have to be honest—I was not aware that the figures were this high. That is the very sobering reality of the financial consequences. More importantly, it is about not only the financial consequences but also the emotional and physical consequences for those ladies involved. It takes so long for people to recover, if ever. If they do go through divorce or separation as a result, it can affect their next relationship or, as the member for Fowler rightly mentioned, the future relationships of families’ children. I have seen many examples of that over the years. It becomes a generational issue, and we see that in the electorate of Forde, where there are generational problems of domestic and family violence. So it is not just that immediate husband-wife relationship that is affected—it can last several generations. That is where the problem grows and becomes wider.

The fact that the violence is perpetrated not only physically but also financially or emotionally also causes a great many scars and reduces the importance of the wife in the relationship. The husband should value the wife’s contribution to the relationship because it is a partnership. It is not me as a husband lording it over my wife; it is a partnership where we work together to achieve more than we can as individual entities. And that is the value of a marriage relationship, whether it is a de facto or a married couple. Violence of any sort in that relationship breaks that down and reduces the effectiveness of that partnership. I do not think it is a coincidence that in parts of our society where these issues are much more relevant—and there are more obvious problems—the ability for those families to be successful and generate wealth or hold down jobs and contribute positively to society is reduced because those families have fractured and split as a result of these issues of domestic violence.

I agree with the request of the member for Fowler that all members show that we are challenging violence against women, because it is an enormous cost to our society. We can say that we are a wealthy, successful society but it is not just about us being wealthy or successful financially or materially. Those family relationships are far more important because having a strong family unit is the foundation of our society. Domestic violence breaks that down and takes away from that. So I commend and concur with the member’s motion and I certainly will support him on 25 November in supporting the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women as I think that it is a very worthwhile campaign and we as a society should be looking to eliminate that. It will create a better, stronger society for this nation to grow and prosper. I thank the member and the House for the opportunity to speak on this matter.

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