Emma Husar (Lindsay, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The issue of violence against women has garnered quite a lot a attention recently. While the immediate context may be the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, I would like to think that we as a community are becoming more able to discuss the issue of violence against women more openly.

In 1975, Take Back the Night was started in the US after the murder of Susan Alexander Speeth, who was stabbed while walking home. This was a protest in response to violence against women. These are now called Reclaim the Night rallies and are held in over 30 countries. We are now well into the second generation of publicly fighting for the same thing: the safety of our women and girls. I can only hope and pray that my daughters, who are now aged 14 and eight, are not attending these rallies when they are adults. Heartbreakingly, as a mother, I must admit my general feeling is that, sadly, they will still be fighting to end violence against women. I was, however, grateful to support the recent Reclaim the Night rally in my own electorate organised by West Connect Domestic Violence Services, and I said then what I say now: violence against women has to end.

In sharing my own story last week as a survivor and as a victim of domestic violence, I told the stories of so many women—too many women, too many children. I have been humbled since and legitimately overwhelmed by the support shown to me since. One of the most overwhelming elements of giving my speech and telling my story last week is realising just how many people have been touched by domestic and family violence. These are men and women, people from every walk of life, in every part of our community and indeed from all over the world. This has just reinforced to me how crucial it is that we tackle the scourge of family violence once and for all. It has also provided me with renewed energy in making sure that this is something that we will not still be trying to solve in 20 years from now. As parliamentarians, we are in the privileged position of being able to make a difference to the hundreds of thousands of people affected by domestic and family violence—and we should.

Labor's recent announcement and commitment to end the cross-examination of domestic violence victims by their perpetrators is an important step, and one I hope the government takes on board. I will use my time here to again call on the Prime Minister to back in Labor's commitment and stand up for victims and survivors of domestic violence. Subjecting women and children to this form of hostile questioning, re-traumatises and creates brand new trauma for victims. It can also be why a case is dropped and a perpetrator gets off, and this is not acceptable. Sadly, there have been promises to address this but, with most things, the leader of this country has failed to act. We often hear of the bi-partisan support on ending domestic violence, but where is the action that backs up this rhetoric?

One of the more shocking cases of domestic violence is a woman I have come to know whose story is so horrific that it is amazing she and her children have survived. Her former husband is now tucked behind bars for what I hope will be a long time, however not before she and her eldest daughter were subjected to cross-examination. Her story is:

On one of the court hearings, my abuser attended court unrepresented which in turn gave him the privilege and legal right to represent himself and hence cross-examine myself and my daughter. That was such a horrific experience and defeats the purpose of court rooms having a safe room for women and children ....

Of course, this is one of many thousands of examples of women who have had to endure this kind of experience at the hands of the perpetrator. This reform to end cross-examination has been called for years by survivors like this woman and her child. It is a failure by this Prime Minister and his government to deliver. In fact, the woman from whom I quote has gone on to create a petition on Change.Org calling on the state government to change legislation in domestic violence court proceedings. This petition has garnered over 18,000 signatures of people who want to see an end to traumatising cross-examination. By allowing an alleged perpetrator of domestic violence access to this ability to cross-examine their victim, it has the effect of perpetuating the violence through a court-sanctioned and court-endorsed procedure. The perpetrator has the opportunity to continue the fear, intimidation and undermining, exercising control over their victim in a courtroom setting. This can no longer be accepted.

Tackling domestic and family violence is a priority for Labor in government and in opposition. I will continue to work towards changing legislation and advocating on behalf of the thousands affected by this. Changing legislation in family law is just one step governments can take in helping to end family violence. This is a crisis that is going to take a whole of society to change. It cannot just be left to governments alone to end this rampant behaviour. Society, corporate Australia, schools, unions, workplaces, media outlets, police and law enforcement all have a role to play. There is not one single person in this country who should feel excluded from the efforts to end domestic and family violence. We all have a role to play. Not one single person is exempt from the responsibility of protecting their mothers, sisters, daughters, aunties, grandmothers, colleagues, neighbours and friends. We all ought to feel obliged in helping to end all forms of violence against women.

It is worthy of pointing out here respecting women and valuing women equally in all areas of society would go a long way in demonstrating an understanding of how and why violence against women has reached epidemic levels. Broad gender inequality is a root cause of men's violence against women. Indeed, there is a clear link between issues of gender equity and domestic violence. And, so, in our efforts to reduce violence against women, we should seriously consider what it is that we can do to reduce the markers of gender inequality that stubbornly remain in our society and in our economy even today.

While I do note that it has taken us 113 years to appoint the first female High Court judge, the gender pay gap, the lack of women in corporate positions of power, the lack of women in political positions of power, the lack of support for working women with children and the lack of support for older women in our communities all contribute to a broader sense of powerlessness that maybe is difficult to understand when you are not on the receiving end of it. But the correlation between this sense of powerlessness and the fear, anxiety and despair many victims of domestic and family violence feel are obvious. We have to have a serious discussion about what it is that we are doing to reduce gender inequality alongside the discussion we are having about what we are doing to tackle domestic and family violence. The fact is these things go hand in hand.

On a personal note, I would like to place on record my thanks to those people who have reached out and shared their stories with me, from the top end to Tassie, from Oklahoma to Thailand: violence against women, domestic and family violence knows no boundaries. I am privileged and honoured to have been able to give a speech that held significance for so many women. I will continue to use my position in this place to advocate on their and on their children's behalf.

Julia Banks (Chisholm, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to talk about violence against women, but first, in speaking about this, I would like to also share a personal story. I too have been subjected to an incident of serious violent behaviour and assault in my life. It shall remain etched in my memory for the rest of my life. This behaviour against me did not occur in my domestic household at the hands of people known to me or people I love and who love me; rather, it occurred in my place of employment. I am sure all would agree that all employees, male and female, should feel as safe from violence at their place of employment as in their home and in their community.

This violent behaviour and assault against me occurred at the hands of male unionists at my place of employment. I was a young corporate lawyer at the time. I worked for a manufacturing company, and a management meeting that I was to attend was scheduled to take place at the factory site of my employer. At this same time, there was an industrial dispute going on, and a group of unionists had set up a picket line at the entrance to the factory. I parked my car, and got my briefcase and notebook. As I walked past the unionist picketers, who had apparently assumed I was a journalist, they made a few wolf-whistles and sleazy remarks. I attended the meeting and later realised that by the time I came out of the meeting, they had figured out a few things: that I worked for the employer, that I was part of management, that I was of Greek heritage and that I was clearly female. In these unionists' eyes, I was the enemy and, in being female, someone to be disrespected. In their minds, they felt it justified their entitlement to assault me and engage in violent behaviour.

The legal definition of assault can be paraphrased as 'when a person strikes, touches or otherwise applies force of any kind to a person, or a person attempts or threatens to apply force of any kind to another person'. These unionists suddenly raced towards me. They chased me to my car. Although at that point I was shaking with fear, I did feel safe in my car as I locked the doors. But their assault did not end there. As I tried to drive my car out through the driveway entrance of the factory, several of these unionist men threw themselves on the bonnet of my car while others pushed their contorted faces up against the two front windows, calling me a wog and other obscenities that went to my gender, with further obscene threats of assault.

Although this occurred some years ago, and it was not on a construction site, it is a memory that will be etched in my mind for life. It has become clear to all in recent times that this theme of union thuggery, blatant disregard for the rule of law and blatant disrespect for women by union officials and certain unionists absolutely underpins the restoration of the Australian Building and Construction Commission to hold these unionists to account. As our Prime Minister rightly says:

… disrespecting women does not always result in violence against women. But all violence against women begins with disrespecting women.

Fast forward to this year on an unusually sunny day during the winter campaign at a shopping centre in Burwood, in Chisholm. I started chatting with a lovely lady, her mum and her young daughter, the classic three generations doing their local shopping. The little girl caught my attention—a very sweet, pretty little girl who was shy but seemed to enjoy a positive, happy engagement. I commented to the mum on how gorgeous her little girl was. The mum's eyes filled up, and she whispered in my ear, 'Well, she's just recovered from a black eye from her father.' And then, in hushed tones, this lovely, gracious woman told me her story of domestic violence at the hands of her former husband. She said to me, 'It's like he knows it will hurt me more if he hurts my little girl, which of course it does.' As they walked away, the grandma said very simply and genuinely to me, 'Thank you so much for listening.'

Earlier in my career, as a legal practitioner, I worked in legal aid and in private practice and provided support and legal advice to many women whose stories of domestic violence are similarly gut wrenching and desperate. As I have said before, I will always strive to be the representative for the people of Chisholm who will listen more than I talk and to be pragmatic and get things done—the person who, rather than waiting to talk, will listen.

That is why I am so proud to be part of the Turnbull government. We acted back in September last year and announced a $100 million Women's Safety Package, which focuses on practical, immediate action to keep women safe; improved training for front-line workers; enhancing service delivery in critical areas; providing the best resources to change attitudes; and a national campaign. Communication is key to these women. In the national campaign, there have been 36½ million online views of the TV commercials outlining where help can be sought. There was the recent launch of the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children, which includes $20 million for preventative strategies and cultural change and $15 million for front-line services like housing and financial support.

In my electorate of Chisholm, the Crossway LifeCare group and Kara House provide refuge for women and provide financial counselling. Financial counselling and financial independence are often key for women who are the victims of domestic violence.

Historically, violence against women has been an issue that people simply will not talk about or do not want to talk about, an unpopular issue. It has been an issue that a lot of people talk about in hushed tones or where they say that domestic violence is a private thing, not something that should be discussed in public. In fact, the term 'domestic violence' poses a risk of minimising or diminishing what is, simply put, a crime. Violence against women in any form, in any community, in any context, is a crime. This is an issue where, rest assured, the Turnbull government is listening, standing with those Australians who have been frightened, hurt or scared by violence against them. We actively and constructively are doing something about it. For anyone impacted by domestic or family violence, call 1800 RESPECT or 1800 7377328.

Linda Burney (Barton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am very glad to join with the member for Lindsay and previous speakers in debate on this motion. I am also heartened by the fact that consensus has been reached in this place about the devastating effects of family violence in communities. As has been said, family violence does not discriminate. I think the member for Lindsay reminded us last week that, while we talk often in this House on motions about domestic violence, it is not abstract for her, and it is not abstract for many people in this place. I am reminded of the inaugural speech of Trish Doyle, the member for Blue Mountains, in the New South Wales parliament, who also recounted her personal experience as a little girl.

For 33 per cent of women, physical violence is experienced firsthand, and many more experience violence indirectly or experience non-physical abuse. I think it is really important that we put on record in this motion that family violence does not necessarily mean physical violence. There are many ways in which violence is perpetrated, including psychologically and financially. It includes things like smashing plates, smashing furniture around you and intimidation. I think that is not often recognised.

This week we have paid particular attention to the violence in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. But I want to reiterate here what I have said for many years: violence against women and children is not part of Aboriginal culture and there is no excuse. I am very proud of the display of unity from this parliament yesterday, when it linked arms and said, 'No more.' But it means nought if we do not take action. Awareness is welcome, and it is fantastic that as a community we are finally talking an issue which for too long has stayed behind closed doors, but the truth is that for many women who are currently experiencing violence our display of unity yesterday will not mean much in practical terms. What they need are services. They need a place to take their children to escape the violence and be safe and supported. They need to be able to access financial assistance and legal assistance. They also need the psychological support.

I am really pleased that the member for Lindsay, in her address to the parliament the other day, spoke about how for many years her mum was blamed for not leaving and it is not as simple as that. Because you are in a relationship with a violent partner does not mean that there are not feelings there between the two people. The people who say 'Why doesn't she just leave?' do not actually fully understand the situation. We talk so much about awareness. But what about action? I do not think we consider what failure of the systems means. It can mean the difference between life and death. I will tell you a story.

On Anzac Day in 2015 in Brewarrina, an 18-year-old Aboriginal woman was murdered by her father. The story rated a brief mention in the national and local papers—and brief it was. The murder was particularly horrific. I will not go into detail, but it was another family destroyed and a community even more traumatised. The murder barely rated a mention in the local paper and, as I said, the national and state papers hardly bothered to cover it. When that girl was murdered the local safe house, a refuge for women at risk, was almost impossible to contact. When my office ran to check, it was answered by a male voice on an answering machine directing women to call a mobile number—and that mobile number was not operating. It was not bad luck; it was a result of cuts to funding and services for domestic violence.

At the time, I spoke out. Family violence, particularly in western New South Wales and rural and remote areas, where there are many Aboriginal families across this country, continues to be a national crisis. But the media was not interested in that girl's death, and nor were governments. That incident, and the issue, went largely uncovered. The sad fact is that the rhetoric we hear on the issue of DV, whether it is from state or federal governments, is not always met with action. For all the talk we hear from those opposite about the first announcement from the Turnbull government being about the $100 million for measures to combat domestic violence, the funding offer, as the member for Lindsay just reminded me, does not come close to replacing the cuts that have already taken place. I would be very interested in just how much of that $100 million has actually been spent, what it has been spent on and why the spending is so slow if this is such a national crisis.

It was not Aboriginal women who cut legal services. It was not Aboriginal politicians who scrapped the Brighter Futures program in New South Wales. It was not feminists who closed domestic violence refuges for Aboriginal women and children in New South Wales and many other services as well. It was Liberal state and federal governments. These same people were silent when $3.6 million was cut from the Family Violence Prevention Legal Services. There was silence when the state Liberal government closed scores of specialist Indigenous violence services and also handed over to faith based organisations the secular women's refuge services in New South Wales.

That has meant a reduction of about 500 beds per night for women and their children escaping domestic violence. I do not want to be too pessimistic because we know that at least some of the measures will help, but let us just be clear that the Hey Sis program in New South Wales, which has been supported by private enterprise, is not being supported any longer; it is being cut—in fact, I think it has gone. The Tackling Violence program in New South Wales, which is one of the most effective domestic violence programs I have ever seen—using football teams as the catalyst to drive down the level of domestic violence in many communities—is being run down as well. All the federal funding has been withdrawn, despite the fact that there is this so-called $100 million.

The answer is not paternalism or command and control policy from Canberra. We cannot impose solutions on communities, black or white. Those communities have the solutions. It is up to us to support those communities and to listen to people that have had the experience. We know how devastating and intergenerational domestic violence is and, in fact, in some ways, it is a learnt behaviour, particularly for children who are growing up in those situations, which affects the choices that we make later in life. I am very proud that Labor has proposed policies like those announced by Bill Shorten the other morning: making it easier for victims to give evidence via video, so they are not, as the member for Lindsay discussed, cross-examined by their attackers; and making sure that as many people as possible have access to DV leave, so that the victims can take the time to go through the courts. It just astounds me that the Minister for Women in this government is refusing domestic violence leave for the people that are employed in the Department of Human Services. The CPSU is trying to get a workplace agreement in place that includes this, but the Minister for Women says, 'No'. Women escaping domestic violence or needing domestic violence leave will have to trade off their annual leave or some other sort of leave. How is that a government supporting victims of domestic violence, or survivors—I am not going to say 'victims'; survivors of domestic violence?

No-one should feel trapped in a violent relationship because they do not understand how to get out of it. It is up to members of parliament to empower those families to know what the steps can be to leave. It is scary and it is daunting. Often there is not the financial sustainability within that family and with those women and children to actually leave a relationship. I want to thank everyone in this chamber, particularly the member for Lindsay, for shining a light on this terrible scourge. That wonderful experience yesterday of being on the forecourt court and linking arms was a powerful show, but we have to back it with action. Like the member for Lindsay, this issue is not academic for me; it is lived experience, and that is not an unusual lived experience, unfortunately. I commend this motion to House.

Debate adjourned.

Sitting suspended from 12:43 to 16 : 00

Anne Aly (Cowan, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last week I heard my colleague Emma Husar, the member for Lindsay, give a compelling, emotional and brave speech in the House about how domestic violence has affected her life. I know very well the shame that she spoke of last week. For women who have been touched by domestic violence, no matter how much we achieve, no matter how far we go in our lives, there is always just a little part of you that stays broken; you carry around with you, wherever you go, a stain that never quite washes away. And here we are in the year 2016, with more than a century of the women's movement behind us, and there are many things that I am still questioning. I am questioning why we are still talking about what a woman wears. I am confused that we still judge women by what they wear. I am confused that women are still earning less than men. And I am wondering what happened to that idealistic wide-eyed 17-year-old me who sat around with her friends talking about what we would or would not put up with in a partner. I remember saying that, if a man ever raised his hand to me, that would be it, I would be out of there, I would not stay. But I did. I stayed.

Above all, I am confused that we, who call ourselves a progressive nation, who pride ourselves on the status of women, are still a nation in which one woman in four is a victim of domestic violence—that means one in every four women on our streets, one in four women in our workplaces and our schools and one in every four women right here in this place. It is a startling fact and it is one that we must continue to talk about because change does not happen when we are silent. We cannot stay silent on this. That is why the member for Lindsay's brave sharing of her story is so powerful.

Domestic violence is not something that happens to other women somewhere else. It is not something that discriminates. It is not something about which all of us on both sides of this House can say, 'It doesn't affect me.' I must also make the point that it is not just about women; children and men also suffer from domestic family violence—though women, by far, suffer the most. Over the past week or so, I have heard and read many comments and many opinions. I have heard the comment that men are responsible and I have heard the comment that women should take more responsibility for raising men who respect women.

Let me just make this point: there is no blame game here. There is nothing to be gained from placing the responsibility for domestic violence on one group or another, for it is the responsibility of all of us, of every person, every Australian, to contribute to changing attitudes to and behaviours of domestic and family violence. As the mother of two sons, I know that I raised my boys with the clear message that violence is not okay—never, ever—and I take that responsibility very seriously. As a survivor of domestic violence, I will share my story and lend my voice to those of other women to make sure that all women who suffer know that they are not alone and that the shame is not theirs—and I take that responsibility very seriously.

As the representative of my electorate and my community, I will speak out against domestic and family violence here in this House, and I will work towards delivering support services to help those in violent situations in my electorate and programs for domestic violence in Cowan—and I take that responsibility very seriously. As a woman, I will use my voice to empower women and to send a clear message to them to challenge domestic and family violence. I take that responsibility very seriously. And, though I never had a daughter—because I think God looked at me and said, 'No, you're not getting a daughter'—I will always use my voice to tell our daughters that their worth is not measured by the kind of partner that they can attract. You are worth much, much more than that. And I say that accepting behaviours that disrespect women, glossing over them and justifying them as harmless locker room banter contribute to a culture that normalises disrespect. We must all speak out because it affects us all.

I also want to make a point here about accepting a cultural defence against violence and abuse. It is not okay for our judiciary to accept that behaviour which contradicts our Australian values is a valid defence in trials involving abuse and violence against women. Many years ago, I worked in an organisation where we worked with women who had been abused. I remember alerting the authorities to the case of a young girl, a 15-year-old girl from the Afghan community, whose father was abusing her and whose mother was also in a violent situation. The authorities came in and took the girl away, but they soon gave the girl back to her abusive father, citing pressure from within the community and accusations that they had been culturally insensitive. So this kind of abuse is often enabled to continue because it is seen as something that is inherent to culture and because of a fear of being insensitive to minority religions or cultural groups.

I am here to say: no, it is not okay. It is not part of culture and should never be accepted as such. We need to educate our institutions and departments that cultural sensitivity does not mean that we turn a blind eye to cultural violence and abuse and that, first and foremost, our eyes should always be on protecting the people—women, children and men—from family and domestic violence.

Ann Sudmalis (Gilmore, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last week, many community groups around Australia held some sort of event for White Ribbon Day. They definitely did that in Gilmore. They have been doing it for years. Australia leads the world in raising awareness of domestic violence. Recently, I was privileged to meet Delilah Sandeka at Goroka, Papua New Guinea. She is the national coordinator for the family and sexual violence units with the Royal PNG Constabulary. Every nation acknowledges that domestic violence is an issue. In some places it is worse than others. And, even though Australia is world leading, there is still a great deal more to be done.

Let me first congratulate every single group that helps the victims of family violence, as they nurture and help someone when that person is at the lowest ebb of their life. I especially congratulate the amazing women whose workplace is the Nowra Police Station. They have been assisting women victims of domestic violence for many years. This takes compassion, dedication and a love of community. Domestic violence funding and prevention initiatives have very strong bipartisan support. We do not always agree as to the distribution of the funding, but we do all agree that the investment is absolutely worth the effort.

Since 2013 the momentum has been continuing. In 2015, a $100 million safety package for women was announced. State governments have also contributed to additional projects such as the Respectful Relationships curriculum aimed at combating family violence. That curriculum focuses solely on men as the perpetrators of domestic violence, teaching students that only by challenging male privilege will violence diminish.

You will note, Mr Deputy Speaker, that I have a bundle of pink and blue ribbons connected to my White Ribbon badge. Some may wonder why. It is incredibly significant, for it is my firm belief that domestic violence has been skewed to infer that only men perpetrate violence on women. While a significant majority of cases are male violent actions directed towards a female, there are men who are being completely abused and bullied by their partners, some with weapons as well. We have to do more in this policy direction.

With one in three family violence cases recorded as being women causing abuse or injury to a male—whether that be a boy, a partner or an older male—we need to consider in depth what the next plan of action should include. We need to link arms as a total community and say 'Enough is enough' and work towards an overall reduction of violence.

I have frequently had a distraught father in my office who has taken his children from a violent home and had nowhere to go for emergency housing as it is only available for females in the same circumstances. These men and their children end up using their car as their home and using the showers at swimming pools and the barbecues in the local parks. Crisis housing is stretched to breaking point and there are not enough resources. This will take a three tiers of government approach to develop a solution strategy and it really should begin soon.

I honour the fact that my government has invested $230 million over two years to extend the National Partnership Agreement on Homelessness. This will go some way to assist. But I wear these ribbons as a form of stereotypically representing what I am about to say, for the colours of pink and blue usually indicate female and male. I propose that no-one should abuse, bully or harass another human under any circumstances at all—not now and not ever. I propose that no person should ever take a weapon to solve an argument. I admit that what I am proposing is a dream of utopia, but it has to start somewhere.

I quote from a recent newspaper article: 'Over 40 years of international research shows school education programs are not the answer to the problem of family violence, let alone teaching little schoolboys about white male privilege.' What the evidence actually shows is that family violence is not a gender issue. To tackle family violence, we need to tell the truth about the violence most children are experiencing in Australian homes. It is two-way violence involving both mothers and fathers. It is violence linked to drug and alcohol abuse, mental illness and poverty.

I am proud that in recent government hosted COAG meetings there is agreement to develop the Third Action Plan of the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children, leading on from 2010 initiatives going straight through to 2022. We need to target activities to end the cycle of children mimicking parental violence. These families are at risk. As overseas research is showing, teaching violent couples new conflict management skills would be effective.

I completely support the need to develop Respectful Relationships, or any other program, particularly in a school curriculum. But this should not have a gender bias. It should be teaching respect for all relationships whether they be work, family, parenting or social. Every one of us should be responsible for this cultural change that we need to evolve. Again, I quote from the same article: 'Gender inequity is a part of the picture in many cases, but it is not the only thing.' Denying that violence is complex, and that men and children are victims as well, runs against all of the reliable evidence and is simply irresponsible. There is nothing 'respectful' in denying people's suffering.

Parents are not stupid. Already, there is indignation developing about what is perceived as offensive anti-male diatribes in similar programs being run by White Ribbon in schools all over Australia. There have been great initiatives in schools, with young men reciting oaths against domestic violence. But this is only half the problem. We must respect each other, no matter what our perception of difference. In some of the programs, the male students would recite an oath against domestic violence. But the girls were not involved; they were just onlookers. The story went on to describe that the girls felt embarrassed and self-conscious of the boys. I do not know if that is a universal sentiment as there are schools in my electorate that have been raising family violence awareness in a compassionate and sensitive manner for some time. Shoalhaven High comes easily to mind as a stand-out model, with both students and teachers involved. Where this is not done in such a sensitive manner, the parents should get involved and have a say. Perhaps there should be a whole-of-school-community response, but it will need to be developed over time.

One of my constituents has been a strong advocate for the equality approach to domestic violence in his role as a professional counsellor, mainly due to the incidents of male suicide. Andrew Humphreys talks about the introduction of a local pilot prevention program which, in his opinion, is going down the same path as all the previous strategies. These all miss the bulk of deaths of adult men who are not mentally ill. They make one attempt at suicide and they die. Andrew would argue that the unacceptable high suicide numbers for males in Australia are between 18 and 44. This does not include single victim, unaccountable, accidental, road fatality males. They are often male domestic violence victims who have nowhere to turn.

At this present time, we really need to develop a long-term strategy and have a more in-depth discussion on how best to help everyone deal with the underlying issues. In the first instance, we need to develop emergency assistance for male domestic violence victims. In the second instance, we need strategies to develop antibullying in the workplace, from male toward female and the reverse or from another female. This is a foundation stone that we need to develop. In the third instance, we need to encourage the empowerment of young women in our country and in the nations around us. Another wonderful, inspirational woman that I met in Papua New Guinea, who has become a successful grower, was telling me her story and said, 'You need to help us bring our men with us, because if you don't abuse will only increase.' There is evidence in Nordic nations, where their index of gender inequality is probably the best in the world. Their achievement is great, yet they have the highest levels of domestic violence.

I conclude by saying that we can all start this Christmas by being kind to one another. In the next couple of months, almost all faiths have some event to celebrate. May each of you enjoy peace, happiness and health. Look after your loved ones and, if you are battling with somebody you once loved, remember that at some stage you actually loved them. Do not fight over the children. You love them too. Merry Christmas and have a happy and safe holiday.

Warren Snowdon (Lingiari, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for External Territories) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This is the third time this month that I have spoken in this parliament on the issue of domestic violence. Like others in this place, I hope that I am not bound to speak here for much longer on this issue, because I hope we can stop it. I will make sure that, until it is stopped, I will continue to speak about it, as many Australians are doing. We should be applauding the people who are standing up and speaking out about domestic violence and saying, 'No more.' It is worth reiterating that, in the Northern Territory, my home, a third of police time is spent dealing with domestic violence. Aboriginal women are victims in 72 per cent of all cases. You cannot underestimate the impact of that data and we cannot overstate the suffering that has been perpetrated upon women in the Northern Territory.

It is also important that we acknowledge the positive things that are being done. This week we saw at the front of the parliament and inside the parliament an opportunity for all of us to link arms and say, 'No more.' That was brought about through an initiative that largely comes out of Central Australia and the Western Desert communities. Charlie King, who was here this week, heard the men talking about the need to stop domestic violence and say, 'No more,' and for us to link up together.

This week we had the Rirratjingu community come down from Yirrkala and perform an important dance for us in a cultural ceremony on the Parliament House forecourt, all for the purpose of highlighting their opposition and concern, the need for our nation to be concerned about domestic violence and the need to say, 'No more.' And for that I thank them. But I think it would be remiss of me not to point out that, for some years now, Aboriginal men and supporting organisations across northern Australia have been taking this issue to heart.

I well recall that when I was Minister for Indigenous Health, Rural and Regional Health and Regional Services Delivery in a former government I was able to support the funding of a camp at Ross River, about 90 kays out of Alice Springs, for a gathering of men from across the country. That gathering of men was, I think, around 2009. It was initiated and run by a group of men out of Central Australia, led by a bloke called Johnny Liddle who worked at the Central Australian Aboriginal Congress, a health organisation. Their campaign was saying no to violence. It stimulated a lot of discussion among men from across the country—from Aboriginal communities by and large. Whilst this was a conference for men, by men, significantly it also involved women, to talk about the issue of violence to these men. My memory does not go back to precisely how many people were there. There would have been a couple of hundred. It was a significant event that I had the privilege and great honour to attend.

Bear in mind that this was only a few years after the intervention in the Northern Territory, when men were being demonised. Aboriginal men felt they were seen as people who perpetrated family violence, violence against children and sexual abuse against children. To have these men come together was a sign of great strength, because they were saying, 'We're aware of all that nonsense, the way we are being portrayed, but here is an opportunity for us to stand up and say this is about us, and this is what we think: "No more to family violence, no more to violence against children, no more to violence against women."' Subsequently, that picked up across the country.

I well remember a march, which I have mentioned previously in this place, involving Aboriginal men in Katherine in the Northern Territory. They organised a march up the Stuart Highway, blocking the Stuart Highway, bringing people in to express the view: 'No more violence.' These men took it upon themselves to do this. They were not asked by government. And that is the strength of this movement which Charlie has now built up around the NO MORE Campaign: it is community driven. It has come from men in remote communities across this country and in the towns and urban centres. We are now seeing, as a result of the publicity it has been given and the efforts of people like Charlie, this movement being adopted across the nation. It is not just about Aboriginal communities. Family violence happens in every postcode, every income bracket and every religion; it does not matter which. We know it happens. Violence was never acceptable, but we have to make sure that people know we should no longer accept the possibility of violence in any community in any part of Australia.

I am again reminded of the work that has been done over years now. You may not have heard of this mob, Mr Deputy Speaker Hastie, because you are a young man: the Normanton Stingers. I will hazard a guess that you do not know where Normanton is. It is at the bottom end of the Gulf of Carpentaria in Queensland, not far from Mornington Island. In 2010, they started a project for their rugby league team called 'Domestic violence not our game'. If members of that team were seen to be engaged in any domestic violence, they were not able to play. This was an initiative by, again, Aboriginal men in Normanton around this issue. I was just reading a piece by Curtis Pitt, the Queensland Treasurer, from 31 May 2015. He was talking about a game of rugby league between the Yarrabah Seahawks and the Mossman PD Sharks. The purpose of the game was to create awareness of domestic violence and to reinforce that domestic violence is everyone's business. It was hosted by the Yarrabah Aboriginal Corporation for Women, in partnership with the Guyula Yarrabah football club.

What that tells us is that there are good things happening around this country around this issue. Whilst we must be concerned and very angry about those men who still think that they can use their power in a relationship to use violence against women and children, in the broader community it is not acceptable, and it is seen as not being acceptable. So I commend all of those who have participated this week in the NO MORE Campaign and those White Ribbon ambassadors involved in the White Ribbon events. It is extremely important that the nation sees that the nation's leaders, men and women, are together linking their arms around this issue of no more violence.

As I end my contribution, I just want to make a couple of observations. There are some significant contributing factors, and we know what these are: poverty in many cases and alcohol in too many cases. Yet we have seen a reluctance by governments to accept the importance of addressing the alcohol issue across this country. People whinge and complain about lock-out laws. I understand that. People whinged in the Northern Territory about having to give their identification at the bottle shop. Well, I do not see a problem. If we know that someone who is an alcoholic or a drinker is involved in family violence activities and we can prevent them getting access to alcohol, we should do so, and we should not apologise for it. I want to commend the new Northern Territory government for the action it is proposing to take in that field, reducing the supply of alcohol and addressing those issues around people who abuse alcohol, abuse their communities and abuse their partners and their children. It is not acceptable, and I know this parliament joins with me in linking arms to say, 'No more.'

Tim Wilson (Goldstein, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would like to follow on from the earlier speakers on this motion by raising my support for White Ribbon Day and its aspirations in dealing with violence against women. I spoke on this only last week in the lead-up to White Ribbon Day, on the need to make sure that we recognise domestic and family violence and that we are doing that we can to address it. I just want to use this opportunity, in light of the motion, to reiterate some of the statements I made in the earlier discussion about it last week, particularly to acknowledge the efforts of Goldstein residents who are taking a stand against domestic and family violence and working with the community to improve the state of our community in terms of visibility and awareness of the issues around family and domestic violence but also working to ingrain a culture of respect and action from the citizen up, because, as I am somewhat fond of saying, I believe very strongly that our country is made great when we have individuals who come together to form family and build community and ultimately country. It is that bit of citizen action, at both an individual and a family level, to contribute to the community that helps bind so much of the glue of our society, where citizens take care of each other. That is why I want to particularly acknowledge the efforts last weekend of Jodie Hickey, who not only organised a very significant community event that brought together hundreds of men and women across the Goldstein community to take a clear stand against domestic violence and family violence, but also, equally, raised money to support and raise the visibility of the cause and to support people who have experienced the consequences of domestic violence. I was very honoured and proud to be able to attend the event on Sunday and speak consistently with them against the issues of domestic and family violence.

Jodie Hickey's story does not come from just being somebody who is a community activist, although that is very important; it comes also from firsthand experience. In 2000, her best friend, Mary, was killed by her husband—that is, Mary was killed by her own husband—who is now on parole and confined to his home state of Queensland. It was that action that led Jodie, on the first anniversary of Mary's death, to come together with friends to raise a glass in honour of her friend's memory. Since then, Jodie's efforts to raise awareness of domestic violence have gained momentum in the Goldstein community. She brings people together on an annual basis not only to continue to remember the horror of the experience of Mary but also, as I have said already, to take action and to improve the state of the Goldstein community through awareness, visibility and individual citizen action.

Each year Jodie organises an afternoon tea, or an equivalent event, and brings people together. She organises raffle prizes and stalls and also finds other avenues to raise money for White Ribbon Day. This year's sellout event—it was definitely a sellout; there was not a spare seat in the room at Sandy by the Bay, the local function centre—was a high tea that marked the 16th anniversary of Mary's death. With increased numbers and excitement, I am sure Jodie will continue to make a contribution to raising awareness for White Ribbon Day. She has already raised considerable sums for the cause year on year. She should be enormously proud of that, but, equally, the Goldstein community should be proud because they have come together, put their hands in their pockets and made an effort to contribute to a cause that is so important.

In fact, Jodie has done this with the help of her two eldest sons, who are champions in fighting against violence against women. Their citizen action is truly inspirational. Jodie is, in the end, a tireless advocate for a society that respects women. I look forward to continuing to support her event in future years and continuing to encourage others who want to take on that responsibility to stand up against family and domestic violence, because that is what we need more of in this country—particularly from men.

While it was wonderful to have so many people at this sellout event, the people who were there were predominantly women. One of the key points I tried to make very strongly at this important event was that domestic violence is not just a women's issue but it is also a man's issue. We need more men who are prepared to stand up with confidence and pride to say that they are prepared to take action on this matter as well. That is why I was proud to be there. That is why I was proud to continue to support it. And that is why I am proud to continue to support Jodie's efforts and any other efforts in the Goldstein community to contribute to making and building the type of country we want.

I hope, through this resolution passing, that all members will share in its sentiments—that we want to build an Australian future free from violence and abuse against all people, but particularly one where men stand up for women and stand against violence against women. In the end, that is a significant way to combat directly the issues that White Ribbon Day seeks to highlight—how family and domestic violence is perpetuated—and to make sure we all show the leadership that we were elected to this parliament to fulfil.

Sharon Bird (Cunningham, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Vocational Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I appreciate the opportunity to make a few comments in this debate today. It is the case that a year ago, almost exactly to the day, I was standing in this same place talking about White Ribbon Day. On that occasion, I was reflecting on 40 years previously—that is, 1975—which was International Women's Year—and the events that I remember happening when I was much younger woman than I am now, such as when my mum and a group of women in our local community decided to establish a women's refuge in the area. Great work was done by the public school mother's group, who were the driving force behind that. They were supported by the local council, a group of nuns from Warrawong, local unions and some businesses who provided equipment and paint and so forth. They established the first women's refuge in our area. I am fairly sure that those women then, and my young self at the time, would have hoped that 41 years later–if they could have imagined that I would end up in this place representing the community—it would not be an issue that we had to keep talking about. But we do, and that is why I want to again say how important this issue is, and we can hope that in another 40 years, our successors in this place will not have to have these conversations. Each and every one of us are working towards making that future a reality, in whatever way we can with whatever power we have.

There have been some amazing contributions across the parliament on this and I want to acknowledge my colleague Emma Husar and her powerful, personal testimony. It brought home to many of us the far-reaching affects that family and domestic violence has on people's lives. It is sadly the case that it permeates throughout families. You clearly have those who are the direct victims of this sort of behaviour, most often women and too often children—and often men too. I think it is important that we have acknowledged that there is an issue with violence being perpetrated against men; though it is predominantly women and children who are the target. But it affects the whole family and that is the reality. That terrible abuse and disrespect of each other plays out through the whole family.

I was at a forum on the weekend where we talked about homelessness. Many teenagers, boys and girls, are homeless because they are fleeing violence within the home. The world is a tough place. The one place where you should be able to go to and feel supported, loved and safe is your home. The fact is that too many people do not have that as their day-to-day experience and that is something that should never, ever walk away from taking action on. Whether that is supporting health services, legal services, programs and housing for those who find themselves homeless, the actions of governments can make a great difference. But at the end of the day, it is actions that we take as individuals that are so important. I am a mother of two sons. It is important that we raise the next generation to have respect not only for each other but for themselves. Too much disrespect for others comes from a lack of respect for yourself.

We need to raise a generation who understand that you are strong and powerful because you are respectful, because you are confident in yourself and you do not have to take that power from someone else to be powerful. These are very strong messages to raise our children and nieces and nephews with. I do sometimes worry about the pop culture view that comes through to young women that looks are everything, that popularity is everything—putting a picture on Facebook and seeing how many people like you then determines how good your day is. I do worry that some of that increasing trend is not giving the young women of today a strength within themselves, a strength to value themselves for who they are. We need to have these conversations.

The activities of community groups in particular are important here. We have a great Reclaim the Night group in Wollongong. I went to their rally in October in the mall. They have been working and gathering petitions on actions we can take. And there are the activities of many groups in this parliament. On Monday morning, as the member for Lingiari reported, we participated in a wonderful cultural event by the Indigenous community about saying no to violence. These are all important things. We need to do them as groups and communities and a society, and we also need to individually ensure that we are giving to the next generation strong and powerful messages of restraint, dignity and care and concern for each other that we can hope plant the seed, so that in 40 years time this is not a conversation that we will need to continue having. I commend both the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition's statements on this and I add my voice to that call.

Debate adjourned.