Tony Sheldon (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

This is from Full Stop Australia's CEO, Karen Bevan, in the last number of days:

We know that for every woman who has been murdered, there are many, many more women who today, tomorrow and yesterday, who were living in situations where they were afraid, where they were subject to violence, where they were scared for their children, and where their children were scared.

The 16 Days of Activism, uniting for a future free from violence, is a critical time for us to think and rethink about our responsibility as both a community and a parliament. Family and domestic violence affects people of every age, from every cultural background and with different jobs and levels of education or income—people living in different areas and leading very different lives. It destroys lives, and, of course, one life lost is one life way too many. This has to come to an end.

Just this week, we heard the terrible story of 19-year-old Isla Bell murdered in Melbourne. I pass on my sincerest condolences to her family and the community. As we know, even from discussions with senators on this very important day, there is no silver bullet to fix the societal problems. Amanda Rishworth said that the 2024 theme 'Every 10 Minutes, a Woman is Killed. #NoExcuse. UNiTE to End Violence against Women' is an important reminder that ending gender based violence is the responsibility of all Australians:

A whole of society response is needed and ending gender-based violence requires genuine, ongoing effort from everyone, everywhere.

The challenges for the entire community are critical. I recall, from my previous life as a union official, representing 97 per cent male dominated industries; going to employers and negotiating some of the first White Ribbon gender based violence agreements within workplaces; finding largely, again, male employers who had an open mind to those discussions; and having people talk through the necessity that all of their workplace be safe and secure for everybody's family life and personal life.

It is important that all of us take a deep responsibility about the change that's necessary. Part of that deep responsibility also sits with government. I think we should certainly clear the air, because it is important to make sure all Australians are aware that there is substantial work that's being done in this space. Whilst there's more work that needs to be done, we've put $4.4 billion of new funding on the table to respond to the government initiated Rapid Review of Prevention Approaches. That includes commitments that were reached at two separate National Cabinet meetings on gender based violence, including government investments of $3.9 billion in support for frontline legal assistance services. The federal government is also investing $351 million over five years for a five-year national partnership agreement, and this will be matched by additional funding from the states and territories. As part of that commitment to the community—and to make sure that people know this is an important issue that all of us are putting our mind and substantial energy to—in addition to those billions of dollars, we've also allocated $169 million in targeted initiatives to support the national plan and $1 billion, through the National Housing Infrastructure Facility, for housing for women and children impacted by violence.

I also want to say there's an obligation for us all, especially men, to take responsibility for our actions and to hold our mates and community to a higher standard.

I know that many men, as I've mentioned before, in male dominated workplaces are taking on that responsibility. I give credit to those workers and credit to those employers for taking a more thoughtful and appropriate approach to make sure it's a societal response in workplaces and across the community. But we need changes and further changes to attitudes. Young men and boys are getting fed misogynistic views through algorithms on social media, and this needs to be addressed through a regulatory response. We also need to support parents to start a conversation with their teenage children. I'd also say to call 1800RESPECT—