Cathy O'Toole (Herbert, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise in this place to support this motion because the facts and statistics regarding domestic and family violence are truly devastating, and they remind us that this issue is real and, unfortunately, rife across our nation. It is a national shame that one in three Australian women has experienced physical violence since the age of 15. It is a national shame that a woman is killed by her partner, ex-partner or a family member every week in Australia. It is a national shame that domestic and family violence is the principal cause of homelessness for women and their children. It is a national shame that Indigenous women and girls are 35 times more likely than the wider female population to be hospitalised due to domestic and family violence. It is also a national shame that one in four children is exposed to domestic violence. And it is also a national, state and local government shame that has an impact in my electorate of Herbert, as we have the second-highest number of domestic and family violence reports in the state per capita, according to police statistics. These statistics must send a very loud and clear message to all elected members that we must act on this issue, and the time to act is right now.

There are so many organisations in the electorate of Herbert that are collaborating and working hard to address this urgent issue. The Townsville Women's Centre works incredibly hard in this space, as do our specialist community legal services, as they are often the only and last hope for a number of women experiencing domestic and family violence every day.

Sera's Women's Shelter also works very hard to support women and children who are seeking shelter urgently by providing them with a much-needed roof over their heads.

Last week, the 3rd Combat Signal Regiment Army unit announced their partnership with the North Queensland charity Sky Foundation to help raise awareness and funds for women's support services. The Sky Foundation was established in November 2013 when the founding members became aware that the Townsville Women's Centre was struggling to meet the ever-increasing demands for help, and support from the 3rd Combat Signal Regiment has been greatly welcomed and appreciated.

Then there's James Cook University, which has developed a unique program that ensures that dentistry graduates are trained to recognise the signs of family and domestic violence. This program was developed by the College of Medicine and Dentistry, James Cook University social work academics and the Cairns domestic violence service. More than 200 dentistry students now practise in this educational program annually, which covers educational sessions such as role-play scenarios, non-verbal cues, promoting honest conversations and researching the prevalence of domestic and family violence.

Then there's the work that is done by the North Queensland Women's Legal Service, who last financial year provided more than 6,000 legal services and have provided more than 75,000 legal services since opening in 1996. Even though this is a large amount of support from this service, the demand for the North Queensland Women's Legal Service 1800 phone line continues to grow. Last year, for every call answered, eight calls went unanswered. I really want to reiterate the point: for every call answered, eight calls go unanswered. That is on-the-ground support which can't be provided due to this skyrocketing issue. This alone is evidence of a serious demand for domestic violence support services and of how much more needs to be done for those eight calls that are unanswered—and often these women may be at work.

These are just some of the organisations that are working on the ground to address this issue.

We need to support all Australians who are experiencing the devastation of domestic and family violence, and the government has a significant role to play in this matter. Not only should we be providing support to on-the-ground services, but we should also legislate support for those experiencing domestic and family violence in terms of leave. I am proud to be a member of the Labor caucus, because we recognise the immediate need for, and are committed to legislating, 10 days of paid family and domestic violence leave for all workers.

The Turnbull government has to do much more than simply deliver speeches and attend breakfasts. They must do better than simply wear badges, because the shocking and devastating reality in Australia is that for every week no action is taken a woman is killed by her partner or ex-partner or a family member. Paid domestic violence leave should have bipartisan support. I call on the Turnbull government to support 10 days of paid domestic leave for all workers.

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