Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that:

(a) 25 November 2020 marked the United Nations' International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, beginning the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence;

(b) approximately 45 Australian women have been murdered in a domestic violence homicide this year;

(c) one in three Australian women have experienced physical and/or sexual violence perpetrated by a man since the age of 15; and

(d) the COVID-19 pandemic has seen an escalation of domestic abuse, with more women accessing online services, and more men seeking support for abusive behaviour;

(2) commends the work of the family, domestic and sexual violence sector, which continues to deliver vital services to men, women and children amidst the pandemic;

(3) acknowledges that many family violence organisations are struggling to meet the demand for services—yet the Government has provided no additional funding in the budget; and

(4) urges the Government to:

(a) listen to the family violence sector and respond to their calls for more support to help women and children flee violence; and

(b) ensure the full resources of Government are used to eliminate family violence from our community.

Each year, from the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on 25 November until world Human Rights Day on 10 December are the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence. This year, advocates from more than 6,000 organisations across 187 nations are leading their communities in calling for the prevention and elimination of violence against women and girls. It is to our great national shame that, more than two decades after the United Nations adopted the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, one Australian woman is still being brutally murdered by a current or former partner each and every week.

This year I was pleased to participate in the launch of the 16 days of activism in Newcastle, in Civic Park, at a public vigil. I'd like to thank the University of Newcastle's Gender Research Network for taking the lead, and I'd also like to recognise the tireless work of all our community based organisations that give so much of themselves to support women and children fleeing violence, despite a desperate lack of resources. I'd particularly like to acknowledge the important contributions of Nova For Women and Children, Jenny's Place and Warlga Ngurra in Newcastle. Each and every day you are on the front line of this diabolical scourge, giving women the support, advice and assistance they need to stay safe and to take what are often the hardest of steps to leave a violent relationship safely. And I know that 2020 has been harder than ever, with more and more women seeking your help. While most of us were confined to our homes for safety, many women found that home is, in fact, the least safe place to be. It's clear that there can be no greater priority for our national leaders than to ensure that all women and children are safe in their homes, at school or at work or whenever they go in the world.

I have raised this exact point in parliament many, many times. Indeed, in one of my first speeches for this 46th Parliament I called on the government to make the reduction of gendered violence a key metric by which we should be judged. Regretfully, while the Morrison government has committed some funding and there have been some promising words, there is still an unconscionable gap between the government's rhetoric and its actions. In fact, only last week it progressed a reckless plan to effectively abolish the Family Court. This was despite repeated warnings from across the community and legal sectors that this will leave women and children fleeing violence without critical support at one of the most vulnerable times in their lives. Similarly, while the Prime Minister has regularly asserted his wish to do everything possible to address family and domestic violence, this was not reflected in the federal budget—far from it. Indeed, the budget made a $1 million cut from the government's antidomestic violence education program in Australian schools, Respect Matters.

Let's be clear: until the government properly invests in the critical frontline services, commits to genuine reforms and provides proper support structures, women are going to struggle to get the support they need to escape violence and build independent lives. There is much that needs to be done. Of course it is about providing more for the frontline services charged with helping women to flee violent situations, but it's also about proper funding of our courts and our community legal services. It's about investing in social and affordable housing. It's about raising JobKeeper to a liveable rate and investing more in Centrelink's face-to-face service delivery, not shutting down offices, as the Morrison government plans to do in Newcastle. And it's about ensuring that all other community services have the funding they need to deliver what our community needs them to do.

The Morrison government also needs to back Labor's call for 10 days of paid domestic violence leave, which will give women the security to flee violence and get back on their feet. You could start today by supporting the private member's bill that Labor has introduced this morning. Regrettably, the Morrison government is short on all these measures. That's why 16 Days of Activism is so important, but we mustn't stop there. Each and every day we must demand that the full resources of government are used to ensure that women and children are safe and supported. It's time to act. It's time to end this national scourge.

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