Sussan Ley (Farrer, Liberal Party, Minister for the Environment) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Boothby for her question. In this budget, this government is investing $1.1 billion to help keep women and children safe. This is the single largest Commonwealth investment in women's safety. It is a down payment, with further investment to come following consultations with the states and territories at the National Women's Safety Summit at the end of July. The goal is to stop it at the start so we can all live, grow and work free from violence. But we know that this is not yet our reality and that women and children are too frequently victims of abuse. We must do all we can to hold perpetrators to account and ensure that victims are supported in their pursuit of justice. That's why this budget is funding a new measure of $4.1 million for a coordinated enforcement and support to eliminate domestic violence trial. This trial will expand on the good work being done by jurisdictions such as New South Wales to identify and monitor high-risk offenders, keeping victims safe.

Two weeks ago I met with the New South Wales Police commissioner, Mick Fuller, who told me about the work and successes of the high-risk offender teams instituted by the commissioner and the former New South Wales minister for the prevention of domestic violence, Pru Goward. Our frontline police are not only keeping victims safe; they're working to prosecute the perpetrators. Domestic violence liaison officers are truly the front line, making critical life-saving decisions to protect victims and to support them through to freedom and justice. We know that conviction rates for sexual violence crimes are unacceptably low. This budget is opening doorways to justice that have been out of reach for too many for too long. We're investing $85 million to more than double the number of family advocate support services, which not only provide duty lawyers but secure wraparound mental and social support to victims of family violence who are before the family law courts. We will explore the development and integration of specialist court capabilities for sexual violence offences.

We must continue to have the difficult but honest conversations about curbing the scourge of domestic abuse—in our homes, in our hospitals, in our police stations and in our parliaments. As we develop the next national plan to reduce violence against women and their children, the Morrison government is determined to leave no-one behind.

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