Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Attorney-General. What is the Albanese Labor government doing to combat family and gender based violence online and in the family law system?

Mark Dreyfus (Isaacs, Australian Labor Party, Cabinet Secretary) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Moreton for his question and I would like to thank the member for Moreton for his sustained commitment to family law reform in this country. He will be greatly missed.

The Albanese government is committed to tackling gender based violence. Digitally created and altered sexually explicit material shared without consent is a damaging and deeply distressing form of abuse, and we know that this abuse overwhelmingly targets women and girls. It inflicts deep, long-lasting harm on victims, it perpetuates harmful gender stereotypes and it contributes to gender based violence. The Albanese government have no tolerance for this insidious criminal behaviour, and yesterday the parliament passed our bill that creates new criminal offences that ban the sharing of nonconsensual, sexually explicit deepfake material online. The new criminal offences make clear that those who share sexually explicit material without consent, using technology like artificial intelligence, will face very serious criminal penalties, and these penalties will assist in protecting vulnerable people from serious online harm and deter and punish this abusive and damaging behaviour.

Today, also in relation to combating family and gender based violence in the family law system, I have introduced legislation into this House to make the family law system simpler, safer and fairer for all Australian families. Shockingly, family and domestic violence is present in approximately 80 per cent of parenting matters in the family courts. The proposed reforms will make it clear that the economic impact of family violence is a relevant consideration in family property matters. Victims of family violence should not be financially disadvantaged when they leave a violent relationship. It's quite a long and detailed bill, but, among other things, the new laws will treat pets as a special form of property to ensure that pets are not used and abused in cycles of family violence.

These reforms will build on the Albanese government's landmark reforms that came into effect in May this year, which put the best interests of children at the centre of decision-making in the family court and established new information-sharing arrangements to protect against family safety risks. Given the significant and continuing harm caused by family and domestic violence, I look forward to the full support of this parliament for these reforms. The Albanese government is delivering on its commitment to end violence against women, to tackle the scourge of online harm and to keep Australians safe.