Darren Chester (Gippsland, National Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

In commending the previous speakers I also acknowledge the mover of this motion, the member for Fowler, who has been an outstanding advocate for the cause of preventing violence against women, and the seconder, my neighbour and friend, the member for McMillan, Russell Broadbent.

This is an important motion. I note that we debated a very similar motion last year, and I would be quite happy to debate this motion every year for as long as it takes until through action here in this place we can do something to reduce the scourge of violence against women. We must keep working together across the party divide to achieve change and to achieve a community response of zero tolerance when it comes to family violence and violence against women.

The member for McMillan talked about the need for a cultural shift in community attitudes, and particularly men's attitudes to family violence. As is often the case, I found myself in furious agreement with my good friend, the member for McMillan. We do need to achieve a cultural shift. We need to recognise that this is not a women's problem, it is not a problem for the police and it is not a problem for community health workers; it is a problem for our nation. In taking the White Ribbon Day oath never to commit, to excuse or to remain silent about violence against women we are making a stand for our wives, for our girlfriends, for our daughters, for our mothers, for our aunties and for our female work colleagues.

I am very proud to represent the seat of Gippsland but I am not proud of our figures in relation to family violence—and the member for McMillan touched on this. Latrobe City is the highest ranked local government area in terms of call-outs for family violence per 100,000 people in Victoria. East Gippsland, also in my electorate, is seventh in Victoria in terms of call-outs per 100,000 people. Overwhelmingly these family violence instances that police are being called to feature women and children as the victims, and overwhelmingly the offenders are someone they know.

The most common location for physical assaults and sexual assaults for women is in their own homes. Women have more to fear in their own kitchen, in their own lounge room or in their own bedroom than they do in the roughest pub or the worst nightclub in Melbourne, Sydney or our regional cities. We should be ashamed of these figures. Domestic violence, as the member for McMillan correctly referred to—and I think the member for Fowler described it as well—is a cancer on our community. But I am pleased to say that we have so many members in this place and so many members in our own communities—the right-minded people in our communities—who are actually trying to do something about it.

Two weeks ago I attended a White Ribbon Day event in my electorate, headed by the Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police, Ken Lay, where Ken, who has been an outstanding advocate on behalf of women in our community, made the point that he had decided to have domestic violence as one of the key issues he would address as the Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police—a real leader in our community.

This Friday I am attending another breakfast in my electorate, which is going to have the former member for Wills, Phil Cleary, as a guest speaker. Phil Cleary was a member here more than 20 years ago, and has been a champion of the cause of prevention of violence against women not only in this place but also in his community life. Some people may think it strange that a member of the National Party will be sharing a stage with an Independent. We probably have nothing in common politically, but I am happy to share a stage with anyone who is passionate about this cause and I hope Mr Cleary feels the same way.

We share a passion about this issue and we are determined to achieve change—change to our culture, change in our communities—because we can do better. We can do better; in fact, we must do better. The challenge is there for all of us not only in this place but in the broader community.

The figures I referred to earlier are extraordinary in the sense that we do not seem to have made a great deal of progress over the past 10, 20 or 30 years. I will acknowledge that the extra reporting of domestic violence perhaps inflates some of the figures, but as the member for Fowler correctly referred to, there is still under-reporting of family violence and sexual assault. But when we know that one in three Australian women over the age of 15 will experience physical violence and that one in five will experience sexual violence at some point in their lives, with 64 per cent of those incidents occurring in their homes, we know we have an issue that we must do more to address.

I do commend the member for Fowler for bringing this motion to the attention of the House again this year. I look forward to working with him and working with my colleagues on this side of the House as well, not only to support programs that government has put in place but also to drive that cultural change and drive that shift in attitudes which are so desperately required. I commend the member, and I commend the motion to the House.

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