Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the House for supporting this debate. It is a matter of public importance, but family violence is a matter of national urgency. It is without a doubt one of the greatest contradictions in our society that an act of hate can be done by people who claim to love the victim. It is not right in this country that Australian women are more likely to be badly injured, or worse, by partners who claim to love their spouse or their partner. For too long, family violence has been regarded as an uncomfortable outsider issue, best left to women's groups, the police or homeless services. The truth is that family violence is not a race, class or ethnic background issue; it is a gender issue. I believe all of us in this place have a responsibility to make it a national political priority.

I know that this issue is of great importance to all who have the privilege of serving in parliament. I know that we are all increasingly antagonistic to the notion that, whilst a neighbour might speak up if they thought a stranger was conducting an act of violence in the house next door, when it is between members of a family in the house next door, the convention is: it is not an issue which we should automatically involve ourselves in.

Today I have asked the Prime Minister to convene a national crisis summit on family violence as soon as possible. I acknowledge that he has agreed to meet with Labor to discuss this idea. In the event that a summit is not viewed by the government as the way to go—and we hope it is—we would convene one within the first hundred days of being elected.

The case for a summit is this. It is not just a government talkfest. It is not just state and territory leaders, as important as they are. There can be no solution to family violence without the voices of survivors being central in the discussions. We need an assembly of the front line—community, researchers, advocates, women's groups, and community legal services.

I am very proud that in the previous Labor government—led by Tania Plibersek and many of my colleagues—we had the first National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children. I acknowledge that the second plan has been adopted and advanced upon. But today I put before the House the proposition that we need to do more, and more urgently. Too often the first public warning sign that a woman is in danger is a report of her injury at the casualty ward, or indeed worse. Too little has changed too slowly.

We need a national summit to capture this momentum. Like every Australian I was proud that the 2015 Australian of the Year is Rosie Batty. Her story of struggle is unimaginable to all of us, frankly. I appreciate that—from the Victorian royal commission through to the Queensland government's report, Not now, not ever, released two days ago by Dame Quentin Bryce, the South Australian parliamentary inquiry, ANROWS, and work by the current government—work is being done.

Indeed this debate today stands on years and decades of effort by many people. This parliament has an opportunity to add our effort collectively to something which many people have worked on. I am proud, amongst many, to have Jenny Macklin serve alongside us in this parliament as she worked on the first Canberra women's refuge many years ago.

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