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

I rise to support this motion, and I want to thank the member for Newcastle for bringing it. I also want to thank the member for Newcastle particularly for reading out the names of those 66 Australian women who have died as at today at the hands of violent men. I think what was most poignant about the list that was read out was the age range. I think I heard that the youngest was a teenager and the eldest was a lady of 85. In the middle of all that were at least seven or eight women with names unknown. We can only guess at their stories.

The elimination of violence against women is something I think all of us in this place are absolutely committed to addressing. It is so important that we keep talking about it, because we all often feel completely overwhelmed about how we tackle this problem. As the mother of 18-year-old boys, I've always been very conscious of this issue and very conscious to instil in them whatever I can to ensure that they do not end up as perpetrators. Perpetrators cross all lines in Australia. They have different ages and different socioeconomic backgrounds. It can happen in leafy suburbs; it can happen in remote communities. It does not seem to be, in any way, something where we can simply say, 'Here is a box, and here is the man that fits into that box.' I think that that is at the heart of this problem.

I recently met with one of my constituents, Aaron Myers. Aaron has asked me to speak up about this issue. I just want to start by reading his initial email to me. He wrote:

Dear Jenny,

Some time ago I received in the post a questionnaire advertising your electorate. One of the questions was:

"If you could raise one issue in Federal Parliament what would it be?".

I answered—"DOMESTIC VIOLENCE".

The reason I answered that was:

In 2016 my older brother Kieth murdered his wife. He shot her in the head and she died before the paramedics arrived.

Molly was a beautiful person. She wasn't just a sister-in-law. She was a sister to me. In that terrible moment, I lost Molly and also my brother.

Jenny, over and over I hear stories of domestic violence on the news.

You now, I never thought that I would be writing this stuff. Every night on the news you hear about domestic violence. But like so many others, I thought it would never happen in my family.

But it did happen in my family.    In one moment a woman is dead. A woman who is loved and cherished. A mother, wife, friend, sister.

I lost my brother too. Keith is in prison and that's where he should be. My heart breaks for both of them.

Before Keith actually did this deed he said he'd kill Molly. The police knew this. They did nothing.

Why do men do this? As a man I am at a loss to explain this behaviour.

Kieths' mental health was always in question. But nothing was ever determined or acted upon.

Molly and Kieth were childhood sweethearts. They have two children. Bianca and Rachel. They're my nieces. I struggle to support them. Their lives have been destroyed.

Jenny, I believe that we can stop domestic violence. Men don't want to behave like this do they?    Surely we can stop women being killed. It isn't just women being killed though. It's about families. I'm a man who is touched by this scourge and my heart breaks every minute of every day. I lost my brother and my sister in law.

We need to do more about mental health. I believe that if Keith had better treatment then he would have got the treatment he needed.

And Molly would still be here.

What do you think, Jenny?

Aaron asked if I could stand up in parliament and tell this story. I said to him, 'Yes, Aaron, I promise you I will,' and so I have today. I know that the member for Cowper has also spoken about addressing domestic violence by also looking at how we can reframe this as a mental health issue to try to stop further perpetration of this violence.

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