Kate Thwaites (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Social Services. How will the Housing Australia Future Fund help women and children experiencing family, domestic and sexual violence? What will delays to the fund mean for the implementation of the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children, including the Albanese government's goal to end violence in one generation?

Amanda Rishworth (Kingston, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you to the member for Jagajaga for that question. Of course, ending violence against women and children in one generation is not going to be easy, but we are absolutely, as a government, committed. That's why I was so pleased last week to see my colleague the Minister for Housing and Minister for Homelessness introduce the landmark legislation to deliver the single biggest investment in affordable and social housing in more than a decade. Of course, this was an election commitment, and we, by introducing this legislation, are delivering. Critically it will deliver 4,000 homes for women and children impacted by family and domestic violence or older women at risk of homelessness. Returns from the fund will be used for the government's commitment to provide over $100 million for crisis and transitional housing options for women who are impacted.

Family and domestic violence is one of the main reasons women and children leave their homes in Australia, and it is the leading cause of homelessness for children. In October last year, the Albanese government, together with states and territories, launched the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children, which recognises the critical role that housing plays in ending gender based violence. In October the government had already taken action through our announcement to deliver up to 720 safe places for women and children, but these houses allocated from the Housing Australia Future Fund are critical to complementing that investment, making sure that more options are available to more women.

Therefore it's incredibly disappointing that we've now learnt that those opposite are going to stand in the way of this investment. Unaffordable, inadequate and insecure housing results in more than 7,000 women each year returning to violent homes because they have no place to live. It is confounding that those opposite will stand in the way of this important investment. Housing for women and children escaping violence should be above politics. Politics should be able to be put aside so that we can actually get on with the job.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Barker is on a warning.

Amanda Rishworth (Kingston, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We must all be pulling in the same direction if we are going to achieve this. I ask the opposition in a sincere way to reconsider their position on this. Reconsider this so that we can get on with the job of building affordable and safe houses in this country.