Tim Wilson (Goldstein, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

What would actually be appropriate is if we just were polite and calm and listened to people rather than trying to distract, because what we just heard was that the focus of this motion for some people is mostly about employment terms and conditions of people who work on the service, rather than the people who need that service. A number of members sitting opposite are 100 per cent right: this is actually about people who experience the tragedy of sexual violence or sexual assault and family violence, and making sure they get the support and care they need.

We should be focusing on outcomes and supporting the people concerned and perhaps being a little bit less concerned about inputs, because the reality is, if you can reform a service to improve outcomes for people who are experiencing tragedy within their lives, that is far more important than protecting the interests of people who happen to be in employment who may be represented by unions or other groups as part of the political process. What it comes to—

An opposition member interjecting—

I make no apology for standing up for victims of domestic and family violence and making sure we have services that provide for people based on need. The comments from those opposite, who seem to want to dissuade against that motion and that proposition, are doing them a disservice. They should be ashamed of that conduct. When it comes down to it, we have a service that is designed to assist people who have faced issues of domestic and family violence. They need support. The fundamental focus of the reforms that are being proposed by this government is making sure we get the best outcomes for those people and making sure that non-profit organisations that are able to provide those services to those people who have been victims of violence meet the best standard.

We know there have been some issues with the service in the past. This is not a partisan comment; it's a reality that has prompted the government to take action. The non-profit organisation Medibank Health Solutions has accepted the invitation that from October 2017 it will work with various other community organisations to provide the support and care necessary for people who have been victims of domestic violence. It's critically important that those services are provided in a sensible, rational, private and confidential way. As many of the people on both sides of the parliament in this chamber know, people who are experiencing issues of family and domestic violence or issues of harassment need privacy and confidentiality. That's why the new arrangements that are in place for the privacy of callers will be upheld. The contractor has been advised. It will take the privacy of calls very seriously and comply with all Australian privacy legislation and policy. That's fundamentally a good thing. That's about a policy that focuses on outcomes and improving the assistance and care provided to people who are victims of domestic and family violence.

The law will also focus on the protection of confidential counselling communication. All trauma counselling service providers will be subject to the same legal protections and requirements concerning the production of confidential records of communication with victims of sexual assault. That is another important principle and provision as a foundation for making sure that people get the assistance and support they need in times when they experience the tragedy of violence.

But the heart of the proposal being put forward by this government is actually about outcomes and making sure those who need support and assistance get it. The helpline needs to be available at times when people are at their most vulnerable so we don't have situations where people who are vulnerable have their calls delayed or diverted because there isn't the support and assistance. If you care about the outcomes that are faced by people who suffer the consequences of domestic and family violence or sexual assault, you should be supporting the efforts by the government. At the heart of our focus is: how do we improve the lives and situations of people who do not deserve the situations that they face? It's always disappointing when we see that being turned into a partisan political proposition focused on the interests of those people who have not always delivered the best outcomes in the past.

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