Jess Walsh (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Today is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and it's a day to reflect on those impacted by gender based violence. It's a day to platform the global actions being taken to protect women and children from this violence, and it's a day to remember the lives that have been lost to this violence. One life that is lost to violence against women is one life too many. It is a national shame that so many Australian women have had their lives taken or changed irrevocably because of gender based violence. There is no excuse for it, and it must be eliminated.

There is a genuine and really encouraging commitment across this parliament to deliver change—change that is needed for women and children—to put an end to and bring down rates of gender based violence, and to make sure that we're not just saying things need to change but that we are listening and that we are learning from the experiences of the people who are working on the front lines and the experiences of victims-survivors. We are listening, as a government, to the people who day in and day out deliver the programs and services in the community that are making a difference.

Last year, Minister Rishworth joined Senator Stewart and myself in a round table with organisations who do this really significant work every day in Victoria, and they told us that they want to see things get better. They also told us that it was really important to them for decision-makers to be in the room for once, listening to them, learning from their experiences and putting plans into action. This year I had the privilege of meeting with more women's organisations based at the Queen Victoria Women's Centre. Again, I heard about the absolutely life-changing support that they are providing for women, and I was also able to report back on the actions that we are taking to work to eliminate violence against women.

We are committed to ending gender based violence and we are committed to doing that in one generation—this generation. We have a national plan to end violence against women and children. We've held National Cabinet meetings this year, working with all governments across the country to build on and deliver this plan, and we have committed $7.7 billion in funding to combat gender based violence. We have ministers and assistant ministers across portfolios leading this work, and all these women are working every day to advance the safety and security of Australian women.

It's important to acknowledge the broader role that gender equality and women's economic security play in reducing gender based violence. Inequality and insecurity are both drivers of and consequences of gender based violence. Our government remains committed to an Australia where all women are treated equally, with dignity and respect. Minister Katy Gallagher has made real strides with the Working for Women strategy, outlining priority areas for this government across areas of women's economic security.

A priority area that I'm particularly passionate about is women's economic security. In my own work, I've seen time and time again how critical that is to the safety and the wellbeing of women. Economic inequality can prevent women from escaping or recovering from violence. It can lead to homelessness and housing insecurity, and it can prevent them from having a dignified and safe retirement. Women should never, ever have to choose between poverty and violence for themselves or for their children, and we've made real progress to strengthen the economic security of Australian women: wage rises for female dominated sectors like aged care and early childhood education; expansions to paid parental leave; paying super on top of paid parental leave; and a legislated 10 days family and domestic violence leave.

These are all really important pieces of work to ensure the security and safety of women. We all want women to be treated equally, we all want women to be safe, and while the government takes a lead, we know the elimination of gender-based violence is a responsibility that is shared by all of us.