Tony Pasin (Barker, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise this evening to discuss a circumstance that has rocked the Murraylands community in my electorate of Barker.    On Friday, 25 September, the body of Jody Meyers was found under a freshly poured concrete slab in the backyard of her partner's parents' home in the small riverside community of Mannum. Jody's partner has been arrested and charged with her murder. Jody was a 20-year-old loving and caring mother dedicated to her two-year-old son Elijah. In the words of a close family member, 'Her death will leave an unfillable hole in their lives forever.' This message was reinforced at the vigil held in Murray Bridge following Jody's death, a vigil that saw over 300 reflect on her tragic loss.

Jody's death is another dark stain on our nation's consciousness. Sadly, Jody is the eighth South Australian woman this year to lose her life at the hands of a domestic partner and the 66th nationally. To put that horrific statistic in perspective, 35 people were killed in the Port Arthur massacre of 1996. That means that in the first nine months of 2015 we in this nation have seen almost twice as many women murdered at the hands of a domestic partner as were killed in the most deadly mass shooting in modern Australian history.

Clearly we have a domestic violence crisis in this nation—and surely our nation is better than this. This government, this parliament and everyone in this place abhors violence of any kind and positively detests, I am sure, violence against women and children perpetrated in domestic settings by cowards. The home is meant to be a haven, a place where those that dwell within are meant to feel safe, secure and, above all, loved. Instead these vile criminals convert these homes into places of fear, dread and harm. The abuse is not always physical but the harm is always long term—and too often fatal.

This scourge must be addressed and change must be effected in this space. That is why our government has developed and is delivering a women's safety package as part of our action to reduce violence against women and children. The Commonwealth government is investing $100 million over four years to implement measures to combat domestic violence, including $3.3 million for CrimTrac to develop and test a prototype for a national domestic violence order scheme; funding to the 1800RESPECT hotline—in total we have provided close to $33 million in funding for 1800RESPECT and the government will ensure the demand for this important service is met and maintained—which is Australia's first national professional telephone and online counselling service; funding of Our Watch, a national organisation working to raise awareness and engage media, national sporting codes and the community in action to prevent violence against women and their children; and a pledge of a million dollars in funding over four years to increase White Ribbon's engagement with Indigenous and culturally and linguistically diverse communities. Sadly, however, financial resources alone will not solve this problem.

Ultimately the real change needed in this space is cultural. That is why organisations such as White Ribbon are so essential and that is why I was honoured to have been asked to become a White Ribbon ambassador shortly after my election in 2013. White Ribbon is Australia's only national male led campaign to end men's violence against women. Theirs is a vision all Australian men should share—that is, that all women should live in safety, free from all forms of men's violence. White Ribbon takes a grassroots approach to combating domestic violence. It is a movement which seeks to make all men agents for positive change in combating domestic violence. This is the necessary approach if we are to effect the long-term cultural change required for stamping out violence against women.

I acknowledge the work of White Ribbon Australia and their ambassadors nationally. I pay special tribute to the dedicated band of White Ribbon ambassadors based in my home town of Mount Gambier. I wish that my parliamentary responsibilities would allow me to be more involved in the day-to-day operations of this band of hardworking local heroes. Whilst I am not always—in fact it is rare that I can be—on hand to assist in their campaign activities, I am proud to use whatever resources I have at my disposal to stand with them and other ambassadors, or indeed with anyone in my electorate or for that matter anywhere else, to stamp out domestic violence in a bipartisan way. I am confident that this parliament will continue, in a bipartisan way, to enact and fund measures that will assist in the eradication of domestic violence from our society while working comprehensively with the community to help our most vulnerable.

I extend my deepest sympathies to Elijah and to the extended family and friends of Ms Jody Meyers, and indeed to all those who are subjected to domestic violence of any kind. There is no room in Australian society for acts of domestic violence. It is simply unacceptable to harm women and children. Unfortunately, our work in this space must continue until all Australian men are unequivocally of that view.

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It being 9.30 pm, the debate is interrupted.

House adjourned at 21 : 30