Andrew Hastie (Canning, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to support the member for Boothby's call for the House to recognise the importance of eradicating domestic violence against women and children. The COAG Advisory Panel on Reducing Violence against Women and their Children notes in its final report some alarming statistics. One in three Australian women has experienced physical violence; almost one in five has experienced sexual violence; one in four Australian women has experienced physical or sexual violence at the hands of a current or former male partner; Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women are 34 times more likely to be hospitalised from partner assaults than the general female population; and women with disabilities are more likely to experience violence than women without a disability.

To localise this problem, in Canning, my electorate, in 2014-15 Pat Thomas House, a domestic and family violence crisis accommodation service, assisted or housed a combined total of 280 women and 417 children. Sadly, not all instances of domestic violence are reported. For example, Pat Thomas House notes that there were some 467 women and 636 children who were unattended in the same year, with reasons including wrong phone number, the call going to voicemail or the number having been disconnected.

No woman or child should have to live with domestic violence. The coalition has already implemented a number of strategies to reduce violence against women and children, including the 'Stop it at the start' campaign, which aims to break the cycle of violence at a young age through education and increased awareness; the eSafetyWomen website, which teaches women how to protect themselves and their children online; the $100 million Women's Safety Package, which includes funding for innovative technology to keep women safe; and the second action plan of the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children 2010-2022, which underpins our whole-of-government approach and focuses on understanding diverse experiences of violence, improving perpetrator interventions and driving whole-of-community action to prevent violence. Heading up the public policy effort for the coalition is the Minister for Women, Senator Michaelia Cash, who is unrelenting in her pursuit of better outcomes for women and children who experience family violence. Last year, the minister visited Canning to help me host a women's safety forum, the purpose of which was to begin a local conversation about stopping domestic violence before it starts. I said it at the time and I will say it again: I am disappointed that more men did not attend the event. While the government is doing everything it can to increase community awareness about how domestic violence starts, the change must come from homes, schools, community groups and sporting clubs. We need an organic revolution of sorts, and men need to be involved. I was disappointed by the absence of men at that meeting and I seek to bring more men into this conversation.

I am pleased to inform the House that in Canning this is starting to happen. In July, the Peel Community Development Group was granted $147,000 by the coalition for its 'Peel says no to violence' project. The purpose of this project is to create a regional alliance against domestic violence made up of business ambassadors and community leaders. The alliance will be used to trial and promote a zero-tolerance community education campaign, with a full evaluation to be undertaken after. I commend the Peel Community Development Group on its grassroots initiative and I look forward to working with the group throughout the trial.

It is my hope that the government continues to work with local people to deliver local solutions and put an end to violence against women and children. Government can only get us so far. It must start with local leadership. As I look across the floor of the chamber, I am proud to say that I am working with the member opposite and the member for Mallee. We are going to be hosting events over the next year or so to promote stopping violence against women.

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