Chris Hayes (Fowler, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise this evening to urge the government to make a clear commitment when it comes to renewing the National Partnership Agreement on Homelessness. The agreement emanated from The Road Home report in 2008, which was designed to provide funding for basic human needs like shelter and food for Australians who found themselves homeless. Last year, Labor extended the funding for another year, putting in an extra $159 million to be matched by the states. I advise the House that this agreement is due to expire in June. The government needs to urgently renegotiate this agreement with service providers to ensure that funding for the next four years is available. Service providers in this area need certainty. They are already being forced to turn away many clients and are losing staff in anticipation of funding cuts. The government simply cannot consider making savings on the back of the most vulnerable and at-risk groups in our community, particularly not when the government is committed to its super-generous paid parental leave scheme which caters for the well-to-do of our community.

More than 10,000 people in Sydney alone are homeless and many of them are in a serious state of crisis, with a large number escaping home due to domestic violence. The 2008 white paper on homelessness, which was supported by other studies, showed a very clear link between homelessness and domestic violence. In fact, escaping family violence is the No. 1 reason for seeking specialist homelessness services. Thirty-four per cent of people seeking assistance from such services in 2012 had experienced domestic or family violence and 78 per cent of the victims were women. Consequently, there is a very clear need for short-term and emergency accommodation for women in this situation.

Women are still the primary victims of domestic violence. Recently, we celebrated International Women's Day which, together with White Ribbon Day, draws attention to the significance of domestic violence and why it should be on top of the national agenda—not just when we come together on occasions such as White Ribbon Day but throughout the year. One woman in Australia dies every week from domestic violence. Last year, in New South Wales, 24 women were killed in domestic violence related incidents including a mother of three, Keeli Dutton, from Miller in my electorate of Fowler. In my area, over 50 per cent of all assaults responded to by the police are domestic violence related and almost half of all homicide cases are domestic violence related. This is not surprising considering the statistics that one in three women is likely to become a victim to violence in her lifetime while one in five is likely to experience sexual violence. Sadly, women are much more likely to be assaulted, injured or killed by a male partner than any other person.

It is impossible for children in families experiencing domestic violence to be immune and unharmed. Not only are they often themselves being assaulted but also there is strong evidence that this trauma will impact on their futures. Evidence suggests that half of all the girls who grow up in abusive households end up in relationships with an abuser, and, even more alarmingly, 60 per cent of young boys growing up in these situations become abusers themselves. Most women seeking assistance from homelessness services have children. Nationally, every second woman is presently being turned away from support services because of a lack of resources. The Bonnie's Women Support Services in my electorate provides support and transitional housing for women escaping domestic violence. Betty Green, the acting chair of the Bonnie service, recently told me that funding cuts would seriously impact on the services provided by the centre, which is already working at full capacity.

While we must focus on challenging attitudes that allow domestic violence to continue, the government needs to do its job and ensure that the vital support services are there and available, and funded. We cannot allow women and children in this country to be forced back into unsafe environments simply because adequate support is not available.