Mike Freelander (Macarthur, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to support the Fair Work Amendment (Family and Domestic Violence Leave) Bill 2018, but, of course, I don't believe it does go far enough in providing a comprehensive support plan for those affected by family violence. I commend the comments by my colleagues the member for Fowler, the member for Scullin and, just now, the member for Lingiari. I have great confidence that my colleagues very much understand the importance of addressing the issue of family violence. Were we in power, we would undoubtedly have a comprehensive management plan. I also commend the member for Batman, who I sit with in the House now, who has supported women in the workforce for many years and has introduced measures to deal with family violence in the workforce.

I believe that family violence is a scourge on our society and that urgent action is needed. The fact that one woman or more is killed per week in Australia in an act of family violence, and that a significant number of children die each year in Australia from acts of family violence, is an absolute tragedy and one that we should be addressing on an urgent basis. The prevalence of domestic and family violence across our nation absolutely disgusts me, upsets me and baffles me. It has no place in Australia, or anywhere else for that matter. How it's been allowed to continue to occur in our communities without urgent and effective action saddens me no end. I do not think that there is a silver bullet and I do not profess to have all of the solutions, but I do know that we can be doing more as a society to prevent, address and punish acts of family violence. Such heinous acts are inexcusable.

We've all been exposed to stories of domestic violence over the years, and we seem to be almost inured to urgent action. I've been exposed to and made aware of a number of instances of domestic violence that have occurred in my community throughout the years I've worked in my community. I've seen family members, women and children, who have lost their lives to family violence. As a paediatrician, I saw the scars of domestic violence, both physical and emotional, in my patients and their families far too often. Family violence takes a toll on people that cannot be expressed in mere words. The scars might not always be visible but I saw them in my over 35 years of work as a paediatrician in our community, over a number of generations. We do know that there is much more that can be done that's effective. We know that early intervention works. We know that children exposed to domestic violence, unless they are managed well, will themselves be prone to acts of domestic violence. There is much more that we should be doing. Each case that I became aware of haunted me. It wasn't just the patients who bore the emotional scars of domestic violence for decades. Mothers, fathers, siblings, carers, grandparents, aunts, uncles and community members are all affected by family violence.

When I saw an ill child or a child with behavioural problems, or even just a healthy newborn getting a check-up, I did form a bond with those kids and their families. To see people who I know and whose children I've looked after lose their lives in acts of violence still haunts me to this day. How could it not? You do share significant moments with the patients you look after. Most of those are good, some of them are quite daunting and some of them are tragic. But, when you see a random act of violence affect a family so that people are severely injured or lose their lives, that stays with you forever. To me, it's a continuing tragedy that these incidents occur week after week, month after month and year after year. That should be seen as a national tragedy, and we should have a national response.

Sometimes I would see families in which violence had occurred but which may have been masked. But it was generally fairly obvious that violence was occurring in a family, with major effects on the children—on their behaviour, on their learning and on their disposition. It was often very difficult to formulate an adequate response. I like to think that I always put the safety and wellbeing of my patients and their families as the No. 1 priority, but sometimes you just can't help but feel helpless in a situation where there is violence in a family that you know is going to be ongoing. It was never my wont to remove children from families if there was a better option. It was never in my power, or really even my responsibility, to tell a parent to leave their abusive partner. But I always wondered if there were better ways by which we could support these families and these people.

Upon my career change I thought that my exposure to some horrendous cases of domestic violence would be over, but that was not to be the case. Perhaps it was a little selfish of me to think that, but that's what I thought. Now, as a member of parliament, I am continually exposed to families who have had violence inflicted upon them in ways that I now see in a broader picture. There are people presenting with the need for housing, for example, or who need help in supporting their children who are severely traumatised. Or they need help in the workforce in trying to maintain a job in the face of having to leave the family home and to avoid a violent partner. I realise now that there is much more that we could and, indeed, should be doing.

For too long, our society has been content with ignoring domestic violence. It's a topic that makes people uncomfortable; it makes them uneasy and it makes them sad. Hearing about instances of domestic violence isn't very pleasant. But it is simply unacceptable and reprehensible to turn a blind eye to it. If we want to address this epidemic—and I do call it an epidemic—we must be willing to fight it with every ounce of our collective strength. I am truly hopeful that society has turned the page on this, with wonderful advocates like Rosie Batty ensuring that the topic is discussed in institutions right across the nation. That includes large companies taking notice and formulating policies that will help.

What I discovered on entering the political sphere is that I can continue to help people with this—and I'm not offering medical advice. I've discovered that I can help in a new way by connecting families with wonderful local services and institutions to ensure that they can escape domestic violence and get on with their lives. Centrelink has been very helpful for people navigating the financial difficulties associated with family violence. The Macarthur Legal Centre in my electorate has been absolutely outstanding in supporting women who have been exposed to domestic violence, in particular, and their children. I do think that, with the right supports, people can escape domestic violence and that we, as a society, can support them. We can offer a helping hand, and we can make sure that the children who are exposed to family violence are managed in such a way that they are less likely to commit ongoing family violence. We can make sure that the perpetrators, while feeling the full brunt of the law, are also provided with support to change their behaviour.

The crux of this debate and this legislation is that the Labor Party do believe that there's more to be done, and we do believe that at least 10 days paid domestic violence leave should be incorporated into the National Employment Standards. It makes me proud to be a member of the Labor Party that suggested this. In particular, when the New South Wales branch supported paid domestic violence leave at our national conference, it was extremely moving to be in the room and to watch every delegate stand in solidarity on this front. Whilst I believe that this bill is a step in the right direction, I do not believe it goes nearly far enough. We need to be doing more to address this crisis, and to show that we care, through real and tangible action. I believe that making paid domestic violence leave a universal workplace right, by legislating it into the National Employment Standards of the Fair Work Act, is a good place to start. But it is only a start. It's not sufficient for us, as parliamentarians, to merely say we've tried; we need to be bold. We need to make our attempts to tackle domestic violence enact real change. The fact that one woman a week is killed every year, as well as a significant number of children, is a disgrace. It's a crisis that needs addressing.

Countless mothers, fathers, daughters and sons fall victim to acts of domestic violence and family violence every day. We do not truly know the extent of domestic violence because a lot of it goes unreported and unchallenged. We need to be bold in our initiatives to address this. We know that many victims of domestic violence are too scared to come forward. We need to allow them ways to make it easier to come forward, and we need to make sure that they can be supported and helped when they do try to flee domestic violence. It's not simply a matter of telling someone who has fallen victim to domestic violence about who can provide them with support; we, as a society, need to formulate a plan to help them on a stepwise basis.

I'm firmly of the belief that, if a woman needs to take time off work to do the things she needs to do to support her children and herself, she should be able to do this without being inflicted with any detrimental effects at her workplace. The most dangerous time for a person is when they're attempting to leave a violent relationship, and we need to support them through this. We know that around two out of every three women who experience domestic violence are in the workforce, so a thorough and adequate response to address domestic violence must involve a workplace response. My colleagues in this chamber would be very much aware that many private enterprises have been taking the lead on this—firms such as IKEA, Telstra, Virgin Australia, NAB, Carlton & United Breweries, Qantas and many more—and are doing the right thing, but it's important that we formulate a national response. Our union movement has been leading the charge, and its efforts over many years have led to subsequent coverage in many Australian workplaces and much change.

I acknowledge that this bill will provide all employees with entitlement to five days unpaid family and domestic violence leave, but it is a very small step. This should not be unpaid leave; it should be, I believe, paid leave. And I don't think five days is sufficient. I believe this legislation should provide for paid family and domestic violence leave of at least 10 days. Even some Australian states and territories—Queensland, Western Australia and the ACT—have been taking action to have more than five days. South Australia offers 15 days and Victoria offers 20. This is the example we should be following. I strongly believe that it is only fitting that, as a national government, we have a comprehensive national plan, and I do not believe that five days leave is enough.

This legislation starts the process, and I do believe that we are at least starting to change. It's disappointing that the government's taken so long. Initially, they were totally opposed to family and domestic violence leave, so it is a small start. I'd like to think we could eventually have a bipartisan approach, but I do not believe the government has its heart in this legislation and I think there's much more that it could be doing.

I would like to finish by saying this is a good thing, but there's much more to be done, and I strongly believe the Labor Party will do much better should we come to power in the next election. The government should follow our leadership on this, and I think there's much more they should be doing. Thank you.

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