Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Families and Social Services) Share this | Hansard source

I want to assure all Australians today that the Morrison government absolutely respects the thousands of Australians who yesterday attended the March 4 Justice. We respect their right to protest. In particular, I want to acknowledge the bravery of survivors of family, domestic and sexual violence who shared their personal stories. My sincere hope is that the words that have been spoken by the survivors of sexual violence will create a real and lasting change to ensure that every woman, young or old, not only is safe but feels safe, whether it be in their home, in their school or in their workplace. My commitment to these women, survivors and all Australians is that I will put every effort into doing my job in here, in this place, because I know that I have an incredibly privileged position to be able to effect change.

More than 11 years ago, the first National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children commenced. It was a world-leading plan, and I acknowledge those members who were part of the creation of that plan. Today, along with the Minister for Women, I have carriage of delivery of the Fourth Action Plan under the national plan, which seeks to end gendered violence. And we're seeing a seismic change in the discourse around the issues of family, domestic and sexual violence. This is not a conversation we could have had 11 years ago, but we are able to have it today. As a society, we know that our attitudes are changing, and this has been evidenced by evaluation and statistics as well as by the March 4 Justice that occurred around the country yesterday. But there is still so much more to do. In joining with the Minister for Women, we are saying, 'We are listening, we are acting and we are looking to the future—a future free of violence.'

One woman is killed by a current or former partner every nine days. One in six women has experienced physical violence by a current or former partner since the age of 15. This figure increases to nearly one in four women when violence by boyfriends, girlfriends and dates is included. Of concern is the fact that one in four young people are prepared to excuse violence from a partner. Since 2013 more than $1 billion has been invested directly to support the Fourth Action Plan of the national plan. The Fourth Action Plan develops on the work done over the previous three plans; $68.3 million, or 20 per cent of the total funding, has gone to primary prevention strategies to improve attitudes towards gender equality and to stop violence before it begins.

I'm incredibly proud today to be able to tell you about the $18.8 million Stop it at the Start third tranche of the campaign, which was launched over the weekend. It's a campaign that challenges disrespectful attitudes learned in childhood that, if left unchecked, can escalate to violence. It's a campaign that we know is having a real and tangible impact, with research revealing that the first two phases prompted 42 per cent of all adults to take action to challenge disrespectful attitudes towards women. Primary prevention must be a focus of the next national plan, but we know we can't do this standing alone. Under the Fourth Action Plan we committed $82 million to targeting frontline services, $78 million to keeping victims safe in safe places and in their own homes and $7.8 million to working with male victims and perpetrators in family law matters. Also, in response to COVID-19, we quickly allocated $130 million in additional funding for frontline services as well as $20 million to boost the Commonwealth initiatives, including 1800RESPECT, our national 24/7 hotline, and the men's line, and to promote our Help is Here campaign.

The way I'm choosing to stand up for women is by putting every effort into rolling out significant government investment in primary prevention, early intervention, frontline services and education. Action should unite us all, not divide us, and it must be above political pointscoring. Now is a pivotal time for all Australians, as a nation, as we publicly discuss and deal with issues around sexual violence and disrespect towards women. Only yesterday I met with the Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Kate Jenkins, to discuss these very issues. We are already implementing much of the work Kate has undertaken with the Respect@Work program, including making sure that the 1800RESPECT number is permanently funded into the future. The next national plan will commence in mid-2022, and we are focusing on all the new and emerging issues that weren't in existence when we commenced our first plan 11 years ago. We must have a prevention focus and look towards building the fence at the top of the cliff rather than being the ambulance at the bottom. We must look to what survivors are saying and at what we can do to prevent violence and disrespect at the very start.

Finally, I want to put on the record that I do not support an independent inquiry into the allegations of a criminal nature. Politicians, like all Australians, have the right to the presumption of innocence. We cannot support a dangerous precedent to stand down an individual merely on the basis of an allegation.