Gladys Liu (Chisholm, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for the Environment, representing the Minister for Women. Will the minister update the House on how the Morrison government is working towards the goal of ending violence against women and their children?

Sussan Ley (Farrer, Liberal Party, Minister for the Environment) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for her question and commend her for the work she does in her electorate of Chisholm, particularly around young women's leadership. The Morrison government is absolutely focused on making Australia a place that is free from violence against women and their children. We demonstrated our ongoing commitment to ending family and domestic violence in the 2021-22 budget, where we made the largest-ever commitment to women's safety with a $1.1 billion package.

This work must continue, and it must continue with real recognition that home is not always a safe place to be, particularly in a global pandemic. Lockdowns and health orders across the country mean that women and their families are facing new challenges. But a lockdown does not, and should not, ever mean that you cannot escape violence. This government, through our partnerships, is continuing to provide support to vulnerable families, including direct financial support. This year's budget included a new escaping violence payment, which will provide immediate financial assistance to support women leaving a violent relationship. There's also $12.6 million for additional projects under the Safe Places initiative, to upgrade, purchase and make fit-for-purpose emergency accommodation for women and children. And we will continue to focus on initiatives like Safe Places for regional and rural women, where there's often much less access to emergency accommodation and where it can be much harder to seek help in a community where everyone knows you and you know everyone.

The upcoming women's safety summit on 6 and 7 September is a very important event managed by the Minister for Women and the Minister for Women's Safety, in the other place. It will be a critical step in developing the next national plan. The summit will provide us not only with an opportunity to shine a light on the terrible violence that women from all walks of life experience but, importantly, with a chance to listen to the victim-survivors, the experts and those on the frontline, who face these awful challenges daily. The summit will discuss key issues for women's safety, including financial security, policing, the justice responses, sexual violence; and the often unique challenges facing, for example, migrant communities and Indigenous Australians. The summit will put these voices on the national stage to ensure that these experiences contribute to what must be a comprehensive and effective national plan.

The Morrison government and I know this whole parliament remains resolute in the task of ending violence against women and their children, no matter what form it takes. Through our budget package, and through the next national action plan, we will all continue to work towards this goal.