Kelvin Thomson (Wills, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I wish to associate myself strongly with the powerful words of the members for Fowler and McMillan, with which I am in complete agreement. I am one of the Male Parliamentarians for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. I have taken the white ribbon pledge not to commit, not to condone and not to stay silent about violence against women. I pay tribute to the work in previous parliaments of, in particular, Rob Oakeshott, the former member for Lyne, and Mal Washer, the former Liberal member for Moore. They were not from my side of politics but they were great parliamentarians whom I learnt quite a bit from, both on this issue and on others.

One of the things that we are committed to do is to raise awareness of the issue of violence. Men who wear a white ribbon demonstrate their opposition to violence against women and their commitment to equality between women and men. Men of all ages, from all workplaces, of all political affiliations and of all racial, ethnic, cultural and religious backgrounds, sexual orientation and physical ability are needed to help establish community leadership to stop violence against women.

Every year White Ribbon runs an awareness campaign about the issue of violence against women and the role men play in preventing this violence. November 25 marks both International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and White Ribbon Day—the first day of the White Ribbon campaign. The origins of November 25 as the international day go back to 1960, when the three Mirabal sisters from the Dominican Republic were killed for their political activism. The sisters, known as the 'Unforgettable Butterflies', became a symbol of the crisis of violence against women in Latin America. November 25 was the date chosen to commemorate their lives and promote global recognition of gender violence.

Violence against women is indeed an incredibly serious problem. I understand that one Australian woman is killed every week by a current or former partner, that one in three women over the age of 15 report physical or sexual violence at some time in their lives, that one in four young people have witnessed violence against their mother or stepmother, that two-thirds of women who experience domestic or family violence are in paid work and that domestic and family violence is the major cause of homelessness for Australian women and their children.

After the murder last year of Jill Meagher, who was an ABC employee and constituent of mine, 30,000 residents walked down Sydney Road. For the 30,000 of us who walked down Sydney Road, Brunswick, on 30 September, as part of a march in honour of Jill Meagher, it was undoubtedly the last thing we wanted to be doing that day; but we did it all the same. We did it because we needed to state clearly and unequivocally that this is not us, that Jill Meagher's violent and senseless death is not what we are as a community of people, as men. We did it because we needed to say that violence against women is never acceptable, not under any circumstances. We affirmed that Jill Meagher and her life mattered and that she and her life were important and meaningful to us. We did it because sometimes grief, sorrow and anger are better shared than borne alone.

After that, I held a joint Community Safety Forum in November 2012 in Brunswick, with state MP Jane Garrett, to hear residents' views about a range of community safety issues and to emphasise again that violence against women is never acceptable, not under any circumstances. Following this forum, I gave careful consideration both to this case and to numerous other cases involving parole violations and inadequate sentences served for rape. This year I wrote to the Victorian Attorney-General, the Hon. Robert Clark MP. I have requested that the Victorian government institute a review of parole and sentencing which provides an appropriate opportunity for community comment, which looks again at the role of parole and concurrent sentences and which considers the introduction of minimum sentences for crimes involving violence.

I requested that consideration be given to the following proposals. First is that parole be abolished for crimes occasioning actual violence and for repeat offenders. I am well aware that parole is considered to be an important tool of prison management and I am aware of fears that prisoners would behave badly in prison if given no incentive to behave well. My response is that this is not a sufficient reason to allow prisoners to serve manifestly inadequate sentences. There is an alternative option, which is to prosecute prisoners for offences committed in prison, such as assault, and to have those sentences added to their original sentence. Misconduct should be appropriately dealt with. If a prisoner will not behave inside prison, is there any reason to believe they will behave outside it? Prisoners who are genuinely remorseful will behave in prison.

Second is putting a limit on concurrent sentences. I find it extraordinary that Jill Meagher's killer, Adrian Bayley, could have previously served just eight years for five rapes—a little more than 1½ years per rape. At what point was it considered safe that Mr Bayley be returned to society? The lesson of concurrent sentencing for multiple crimes is that, if you commit one crime, you might as well commit a few. Is this the message we really want to send to offenders? Why should offenders be able to commit further offences with impunity? The maximum sentence for a single rape is 25 years. How can it be that five rapes led to a period in prison of just eight years?

Third is introducing minimum sentences for crimes occasioning violence. I understand that the Sentencing Advisory Council data indicates that non-parole periods for rape are falling. A decade ago men convicted of rape would get a non-parole period of about 5½ years jail, but as of last year this has fallen to about 4¼ years. It was also reported that the most common prison sentence in Victoria was four years, with a non-parole period of two years. In my view, such a sentence is manifestly inadequate. Having spoken to thousands of constituents and fellow Victorians about these sorts of issues in over 30 years of public life, I believe this sentencing is quite out of touch with community expectations.

Males, too, are often the victims of violence. While boys and men are the large majority of perpetrators of violence, boys and men often are also the victims. Males are bashed up, bullied and sexually assaulted. Boys and men are most at risk of violence from other boys and men. Ending violence to girls and women and ending violence to boys and men are part of the same struggle—to create a world based on equality, justice and non-violence.

A core part of Australian citizenship is respect for Australian law and the Australian legal system. And a core part of the Australian legal system is that domestic violence or family violence is never acceptable. Domestic violence can take the form of using religious teachings or cultural tradition as an excuse for violence. In Australia religious teachings and cultural traditions are not more important than the right of all of us to be free of violence or the fear of it, nor are they more important than Australian law. As I have pointed out at citizenship ceremonies, the citizenship oath requires citizens to swear their allegiance to Australia, 'whose democratic beliefs I share, whose rights and liberties I respect, and whose laws I will uphold and obey'. This does not mean people uphold the laws that they agree with, or which do not conflict with their religious convictions or cultural traditions. It means they uphold all Australian laws. It does not mean people uphold the rights and liberties of those Australian citizens they agree with, and incite violence against those they do not. It means that Australian citizens uphold the rights and liberties of all Australians.

Unfortunately, surveys suggest that our laws against domestic violence are often broken. Over 50 per cent of Australian women report experiencing at least one incident of physical violence or sexual violence by a man during their lifetime. I am confident that the House will agree with me that this is unacceptable and has to change. Being a good Australian man or woman means building safe and healthy relationships—partnerships, involving joint decision making and shared responsibilities. It means economic equality, emotional honesty and respect. It means supporting your partner's goals and valuing their opinions and ensuring a family environment imbued with reassurance, love and security. I congratulate the White Ribbon Campaign on the mighty work it is doing to bring about these incredibly important, positive, and powerful outcomes. This weekend I will be speaking at a dinner event organised in Melbourne by Dr Berhan Ahmed aimed at countering violence within newly-arrived African communities. I congratulate him on the great work that he is doing. I also wish to congratulate the member for Fowler on his initiative in moving this motion.