Jenny Ware (Hughes, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to support the motion currently before this House that notes the government's commitment to provide workers, including casual workers, with 10 days of paid leave to deal with the impacts of family and domestic violence. This parliament needs to move quickly to address the scourge that is domestic and family violence within our country. I've held women's roundtables and met with our local police, so I know it is also a scourge that affects my electorate of Hughes. To that end, I support this motion and I support the legislation. We need to acknowledge that the former coalition government, in December 2018, passed legislation that enshrined five days unpaid family and domestic violence leave into the Fair Work Act's National Employment Standards. This motion is supported, as it notes that the government is committed to providing many other Australian workers with 10 days paid leave.

Most of the victims of domestic violence in our country are women, often women with children. It is almost impossible for women with children impacted by violence within their own home—they need some financial support at the beginning to be able to move out of the circle that is domestic violence. This legislation will support some of the victims to be able to start to make that move.

I would like to acknowledge that the coalition did, over a period of nine years, invest over $2 billion in women's safety, including a record $1.1 billion in the last budget to respond to violence against women. However, clearly there has not been enough done, and this legislation will assist some of the more vulnerable victims to be able to move out from a violent situation. This is said in a context where I've met with women's groups, local lawyers and local police. Women should not be penalised further financially, often with the threat of losing their job, because they are seeking to move themselves and/or their children away from a violent home life. The legislation referred to in this motion, the Fair Work Amendment (Paid Family and Domestic Violence Leave) Bill 2022, would see the entitlement enshrined in National Employment Standards, which cover up to 11 million employees. This is a good step forward and is based on the initial work done by the former coalition government.

As a parliament, we need to demonstrate that we have zero tolerance for family violence and recognise that there is a need for specialised legal and other joined-up services for those dealing with family separation, divorce and family violence. Family separation and divorce are two of the most difficult events that people will encounter in their lives, and they're also a time when family violence can escalate and place victims at increased risk of harm. If we can provide those victims with an opportunity to take some paid leave at a time when it's desperately needed, this will be the first step for many of our victims to be able to move away from the scourge that is family and domestic violence within their own home. Women experiencing domestic violence should never have to choose between their safety and their wages. They'll often need assistance to make that first step to escape from that violence. I commend this motion, on the basis that the legislation it refers to will assist those victims.

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