Carina Garland (Chisholm, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Social Services. How will the outcomes of last week's National Cabinet on gender based violence deliver on the priorities in the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children?

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

I'd like to thank the member for Chisholm for her question. Of course, family, domestic and sexual violence destroys lives, and it must end. Since the day we were elected, our government have made the safety of women and children experiencing family, domestic and sexual violence a national priority. Our government, along with states and territories, are united in our efforts under the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children. The national plan is a road map for change and was developed in partnership with victims-survivors and outlines our shared goals of ending violence against women and children in a generation.

Our government has already invested more than $3.4 billion into women's safety, and this investment is guided by our national plan. Last Friday, as part of this government's concerted effort, the Prime Minister convened all states and territories for the second dedicated National Cabinet meeting on gender based violence. The Commonwealth, along with all states and territories, confirmed further action to tackling family, domestic and sexual violence. Part of this extra effort, announced by the Albanese Labor government, was an extra $4.4 billion in investment to fund action. As part of ensuring support for victims-survivors, frontline legal services will benefit from the largest injection of funding to the legal assistance sector in the last 20 years. Our government will also provide much needed support for family, domestic and sexual violence frontline services through a five-year national partnership agreement, with funding to be matched by states and territories. This will provide long-term funding certainty and focus on specialised services for women, services to support children exposed to family, domestic and sexual violence and services working with men, including men's behaviour change programs.

In addition, the Albanese Labor government is providing $80 million to expand existing programs that support children and young people to address the impact of violence on children's development and wellbeing. Our government will also lead the development of national minimum standards for men's behaviour change programs to ensure that these programs make a real difference. Along with that we will develop a new best practice family and domestic violence risk assistance principles and framework. Of course, the Attorney-General will also be leading work with jurisdictions to improve information sharing and policing response for high-risk perpetrators.

Our government has and will taking continue substantial action under our national plan to end violence against women and children. We all have a role to play to end violence in one generation, and our government will work with everyone—governments, business, communities and individuals—to achieve this goal.