Adam Bandt (Melbourne, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

Today, parliament is acting.

Today we have an opportunity to address the epidemic of domestic violence that scars our nation.

Today I am proud to introduce this bill, the Fair Work Amendment (Improving National Employment Standards) Bill 2017, which will provide every employee with an entitlement to 10 days of paid family and domestic violence leave per calendar year. An employee will be entitled to access the leave if they or a member of their family experiences family and domestic violence and, as a result, requires care from that employee. The employee will be able to take this leave if they require counselling, medical attention, legal advice, relocating or any other activity associated with the experience of domestic violence.

Family and domestic violence is a wicked act that is not caught on CCTV footage, like a hold-up at a convenience store or a robbery, which are often beamed into lounge rooms across the country on the nightly news.

This insidious violence takes many forms, often occurring under a dark shroud, behind closed doors. It is hidden from view. It is perpetrated by cowardly people in the kitchens, bedrooms and living rooms of homes all across the country.

One in six women experience family and domestic violence. Indigenous women experience violence at even higher rates. Last year, we lost 44 women to family and domestic violence. Every one of these deaths is a tragedy—an unacceptable tragedy. The number should be zero.

Domestic violence is a problem that begins and ends with men. Mainly, it is men who perpetrate this violence against their partners and their families. It is men who are imbued with entitlement and misogyny, who scar our collective national consciousness, and it is men, not women, who must change their behaviour. It's clear that we need to alter the way we raise our boys. We need to teach them to respect women, and that violence is abhorrent.

It's clear we all have a role to play to stop this from happening—but that until then we must live with our failure, and living with our failure means acknowledging the reality before us: that family and domestic violence is an ongoing problem that we must address now. And, while the parliament cannot flick the switch immediately and prevent another woman from dying an unnecessary death at the hands of their partner, we can do something.

The reason that this bill is so important, and I urge everyone, whichever party they come from, to support this bill, is because leaving a domestic violence situation is one of the hardest things that a person may attempt in their lives. It is not a matter of packing a bag and walking out the door. The perpetrators of family and domestic violence erode the liberty, the freedom and the independence of their victims. They do not just inflict fear and pain—they paralyse and isolate people.

Not only is the cost of domestic violence to our society vast, but the cost of escaping and leaving a violent relationship is also significant. According to the ACTU, on average it takes $18,000 and 141 hours to escape such a relationship—$18,000, 141 hours. Starting a new life in a new place isn't easy—you need to do simple things, logistical things, like hire a truck to move possessions, and spend time finding a new place to go; things that in many circumstances are stressful enough anyway, but when you have the added burden of experiencing family and domestic violence, or knowing someone who has, it makes it all the harder. And if you're trying to start a new life while escaping an old one, you also need to pay lawyers, seek support to deal with trauma, apply for Centrelink, look for new schools for your child—the list goes on and on.

Many women consider their financial capacity while they're thinking about leaving an abusive situation, and a majority of women—two thirds, in fact—are in paid employment.

But right now, instead of automatically having the support of their workplace, women in abusive relationships are trapped in a scary catch 22: leaving work to create more time means sacrificing income, financial independence and possibly their job, but staying at work may hinder their ability to get organised and get out.

Additionally, along with the personal impact that domestic violence has on an employee, there are real costs borne by the workplace in the form of decreased performance and conflict among workers. This is because intimate partner violence spills over into the public sphere. This violence does not end when women step outside their homes but pervades every part of their lives, including their workplaces. The workplace can cease to be a safe space. Oftentimes, past or current abusive partners may target victims and survivors at work, through an onslaught of emails, phone calls or by showing up in person, attempting to get these women fired or forcing them to resign. Make no mistake, this is an exercise in exerting power and control over women, robbing them of financial security, self-confidence or the ability to do their work effectively. Women cannot afford this disruption and the endangerment of their jobs.

According to a report from the Australian Human Rights Commission, women who experience domestic violence are more likely to have lower personal incomes and a disrupted work history, and almost half of the women said it affected their ability to work.

The point is that this impossible choice is a false choice. There is another option for these women, if this place has the courage to choose it. We can give another option to millions of women across this country.

Ten days of paid family and domestic violence leave gives women the flexibility to take time off work to arrange for their own safety. This year, the parliament can grant what should be a universal right for every single worker in this country—the right to safety.

This policy will save lives.

Without paid leave, it's very hard to leave.

And right now, we're not doing a good enough job at both preventing domestic violence from happening in the first place but also calibrating our policies to ensure that people who are in abusive relationships can leave them. We're failing on both fronts.

Why is this? How many people must suffer until we do something? How many more Rosie Battys will there be until we act? This government talks a lot about keeping Australians safe. But there's a troubling reality: figures from the Bureau of Statistics show that from 2003 to 2012, while deaths to Australians caused by terrorism was at 133, deaths from domestic violence was at 870.

It is the height of hypocrisy and it is offensive for the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition to sit here in this place, complete with white ribbons, to talk about tackling family and domestic violence and then—when we have the opportunity to act to do something about it—to choose not to

That takes a special kind of malice, a special kind of mendacity—to look women who have suffered in the eyes and effectively say, 'I know I can help, but I am choosing not to.'

The Greens are putting our cards on the table. We've introduced this bill and we're willing to have a conversation about this issue that's literally destroying people's lives.

I hope that this bill passes with support from across the aisle. I know, having been here now for a period of time, that what often happens when courageous bills are brought forward is that they're ignored and then there's a period of ridiculing them saying, 'It'll cost too much,' and then, as we see time and time again, policies that the Greens bring to this place usually get adopted a few years later. We should not wait. We should not go through that cycle this time. We should make this a reality this year.

I challenge members who are sitting in this place to turn their talk into action. Put forward a legitimate reason for not voting for this bill. The Minister for Employment, the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition should all stand up and say they support this bill and turning it into law this year.

Women today are living in an extraordinary time. The President of the United States is an anti-abortion misogynist who sees women as objects for him to accumulate and conquer. The #MeToo movement, at the same time, is sweeping the globe, uncovering men in powerful positions who have abused their power and their privilege at the expense of women who are just trying to do their job. But this is not merely a problem of men in power or men of celebrity. These abusers of women are hiding in anonymity across our country. Most women's stories are yet to be acknowledged. Women without the privilege, the public platform, the workplace support, or the financial security often needed to speak up, face a greater likelihood of devastating consequences. So, as this bill is debated and progresses through this place, every one of us needs to decide: which side are we on? Right now, history is being written. Will this parliament capitulate or will we use the extraordinary potential of this place to take a step that will save the lives of women around this country? Ten days leave for those experiencing family and domestic violence is unobjectionable, and I commend this bill to the House.

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

Is the motion seconded?

Andrew Wilkie (Denison, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.

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

The time allotted for this debate has expired. The debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.