Susan Templeman (Macquarie, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I had a chance to say thank you to some of the organisations that have helped people at possibly their lowest point in the last 18 months. The statistics are well known: an increase in domestic violence with service providers around the country seeing a surge in demand and nearly half saying their clients report an increase in controlling behaviours. That's certainly the case in Macquarie

I wanted the shadow assistant minister responsible for family violence, Senator Jenny McAllister; and the shadow housing and homelessness minister, Jason Clare, to hear the human stories, and they joined me to meet with domestic violence workers in the Blue Mountains and Hawkesbury.

We met first with the Women's Cottage, which does extraordinary work and sees increasing demand. They look after the whole of the Hawkesbury—one place for that whole region. In the mountains, we met with DV West, who had to turn women and their children away from their refuges because they simply had no room. Our domestic violence interagency included BANC, MCRN, Blue Mountains Women's Health and Resource Centre, Link Wentworth and the Older Women's Network, who all shared their stories of the challenges they see women face. Then we crossed the road to Junction 142 in Katoomba. In October they handed out 235 hampers, provided 220 hot meals, provided hot showers to 73 people, and ran 165 cycles of their washing machines—really practical things that absolutely make a difference. I want to thank them.