Sarah Henderson (Corangamite, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Family violence is a scourge across Australia, and the statistics are alarming. According to the Domestic Violence Resource Centre in Victoria, one in four Australian women experience intimate partner violence, One woman, on average, is killed in Australia every week by a partner or ex, and that is a dramatic statistic in itself. A woman faces an increased risk of being killed or seriously injured when she leaves or is separating from an abusive partner. Three women are hospitalised every week in Australia with a traumatic brain injury caused by their partner or ex. In my state of Victoria, Victoria police family violence incidents are again going up dramatically. In 2012 approximately 47,000 incidents were reported. In 2016 that number jumped to 77,000. And let us not forget that Indigenous women, alarmingly, are 35 times more likely to be hospitalised by family violence than other women.

Family violence affects so many of us in so many ways. I have spoken before about one of my sister's closest friends, the beautiful Monique Denahy from Geelong, who was murdered by her partner. There are also some amazing stories of inspiration. Members here might have read about Rachael Moore. She has five children, and four of them saved her life when her former partner and the children's then stepfather stormed into their Brisbane home, shooting Rachael in the shoulder. The two older children wrestled the gun away from their stepfather's arms and stopped him attacking their mother while the younger children also took defensive action, including hiding their baby sister. The four children will receive Australian bravery awards later this year.

I am very proud of the work that our government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Turnbull and the Minister for Women, Senator Cash, has done to date. It includes committing $200 million in new funding under the Women's Safety Package and the Third Action Plan to address family violence. This includes $18.5 million to legal aid commissions to deliver integrated duty lawyer and family violence support services; money for family relationship centres; $16.5 million for community legal centres to provide advice; and other specific funding for Indigenous communities. The Attorney-General, too, has led the way, announcing a review of the Family Law Act, particularly in part 7, and also releasing an exposure draft of amendments to the Family Law Act which are being proposed, which include making injunctive orders for personal protection a criminal offence.

As the chair of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs, I am also proud that last week our committee announced an inquiry into a better family law system to support and protect those impacted by family violence. Our committee's strong message is, 'Your voice matters.' The committee has a number of particular areas of focus in the inquiry, including how the family law system can respond as quickly as possible to family violence and how it can provide adequate protection through consent orders. We are also looking at the issue of self-represented litigants, particularly when it comes to perpetrators cross-examining their partners or former partners who may have been subjected to family violence. The inquiry will also consider the financial needs of people affected by family violence, including whether family violence should be a specific issue in relation to property division. We will also examine the capacity of family law professionals to respond to cases involving family violence and the potential for a national approach to the enforcement and administration of intervention orders or apprehended violence orders, depending on the state you are in.

I just want to share with members here and with anyone either watching this tonight or reading it in Hansard that submissions are open until 3 May. But, very importantly, at the inquiry website address, which is aph.gov.au/fvlawreform, there is a questionnaire that every person who has been affected by family violence in the family law system can fill out to share their experience.

House adjourned at 20:00

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