Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Immigration) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise tonight to speak on White Ribbon Day or United Nations Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.

Violence is a scourge in our communities and it is a silent epidemic. It destroys families and the fabric of society. It is linked with homelessness, poverty, unemployment and disability.

Domestic violence also has a huge impact on the economy. In 2009 it was estimated that violence against women and their children cost approximately $13.6 billion and it has been estimated that, if no action is taken to address this problem, by 2021-22, 750,000 Australian women will experience and report violence, at an estimated cost of $15.6 billion to the Australian economy.

The Liberal Party has a proud history of implementing policies that reduce violence against women. When it came to power in 1996 the coalition government implemented and funded the Partnerships Against Domestic Violence and Women's Safety Agenda programs, which included funding for an Australian Bureau of Statistics Women's Safety Survey.

From 1996 to 2007 the Howard government carried on the Liberal tradition of supporting and improving the position of women in Australia by recognising the many different roles that women may fulfil during their lives. The Howard government committed itself to an Australia where women were full and active participants in all spheres of public and private life across a wide range of decision-making positions.

Ensuring a strong national economy is the best way of providing financial security and prosperity for Australian women. The coalition has a proud record of strong economic management and, when last in government, was responsible for an unmatched period of economic prosperity.

The coalition's repayment of the previous Labor government's $96 billion debt meant that taxpayers did not need to pay $8 billion a year in interest payments—money that was instead spent on health, education, infrastructure, support for families and countless other worthy initiatives.

The safety of women was a top priority for the Howard government. It dedicated $75.7 million over four years to the Women's Safety Agenda, which addressed four broad themes: prevention, health, justice and services. The initiatives included the national 'Violence Against Women—Australia Says No' campaign and the national 24-hour helpline. The campaign was launched in 2004 and thousands of calls were subsequently fielded.

In 2007 a pilot Bsafe program was funded, for three years, by the Howard government in the Hume region of Victoria. It cost less than $300,000. Seventy-two women and their children were given personal alarms to activate in case their partners or former partners were threatening them. To be eligible, the women had to have an intervention order which was at risk of being breached. The evidence given by the women was that the program saved their lives. These were women living in constant fear, unable to sleep, work or, often, even leave their homes.

Evidence shows that domestic violence is linked with homelessness. The Bsafe evaluation report found:

The cost of a woman with children who accesses crisis accommodation, refuge, transitional housing and then exits into private rental in the Hume region was estimated at $10,195.90.

The benefits therefore of a perpetrator being removed and a woman and her children being able to stay in their homes are enormous. There is no need for dislocation from local community, schools and often family or friends in the area. There is greater potential for the women to be in employment, gain a wage, improve their prospects for financial security later in life and retain a sense of dignity. Ultimately, the taxpayer dollar is saved. This is the kind of program that has a proven practical impact. No further funding was provided by the Labor federal government to continue the pilot scheme after it finished in 2010.

The achievements of the Howard government are testament to the commitment of the Liberal Party more broadly when it comes to recognising, protecting and enhancing the position of and opportunities for Australian women. These are issues that we take very seriously and commitments we look forward to building on when we are next in government.

The current plan for tackling domestic and family violence in Australia is set out in the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children 2010-2012. This plan has bipartisan support. It is therefore disappointing that the first three-year implementation plan, which was due for release in July 2011, was not released until September this year.

I find it somewhat difficult to reconcile the rhetoric that the government puts forward stating its commitment to eliminating violence against women, when it was in fact more than a year late in releasing the implementation plan for what is only stage 1 of a 12-year strategy.

Likewise, the government's promised National Centre for Excellence for Data Collection on Domestic Violence has not yet been established. While this was a core promise from the government, and a promise reiterated as part of the Equal Futures Partnership agreement announced by Prime Minister at the launch of that program in New York in September this year, the opening date of the centre is still unknown.

In July this year we were advised that representatives at the COAG Select Council on Women's Issues had 'agreed to work towards the development' of the centre.

This lack of true commitment to this crucial area by the government is also seen in the Australian Human Rights Commission's criticism of the government's draft National Disability Insurance Scheme, which it said contained no specific measures addressed at violence against women and girls with a disability, despite the fact that protection of people with a disability from violence is a key policy area of the National Disability Strategy 2010-2020.

Although women are predominantly the victims of domestic violence, this is not a 'women's problem' alone, and that is why the approach that White Ribbon takes, in mobilising high-profile men to promote the notion that violence against women is completely unacceptable, is such a powerful one. Through peer influence and male role modelling, both within their families and also through their workplaces and communities, men are able to effect attitudinal and cultural change that will work hand in hand with other strategies. I commend the more than 58,000 men across Australia who have vowed to never remain silent in the face of violence against women and I hope that many more will join them in taking the pledge.

A program that advocates best practice for change in the corporate world is the Australian Human Rights Commission's Male Champions of Change program, developed and orchestrated by Sex Discrimination Commissioner Elizabeth Broderick and launched in April 2010. The group of CEOs and chairmen has committed to advocate and drive gender equality strategies through their businesses, using their personal connections and influence. The program has been recognised as best practice in this area and the approach is being replicated throughout the world.

A number of these CEOs attended a panel discussion at the Sustaining Women in Business conference in Melbourne last month and it was promising to see that they are recognising the impact that domestic violence can have in a workplace. Nearly two-thirds of women who experience domestic violence are in the workplace. So by acting to identify and reduce the incidence of domestic violence in their workplaces and by providing a supportive and safe environment, businesses will be able to reduce costs associated with turnover, absenteeism and productivity. Facilitating the continuation of a woman's employment while she deals with a situation of domestic violence will also help ensure her future financial security and that of any children she might have.

We have come a long way in raising the recognition and the profile of domestic violence, both through the police forces and in the community, over the past few decades. But while there is still a single boy or girl growing up in this country who believes that a woman ever 'had it coming', or that hiding her car keys so she cannot go to work and earn a living or isolating her from her friends, family and support networks in order to gain psychological power and control or hitting her is ever acceptable or is an issue that should stay behind closed doors, then there is still much work to be done. The Liberal Party, as stated by the Leader of the Opposition today at the White Ribbon Day function at Parliament House, is committed to working towards the total elimination of violence against women.

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Before I call Senator Bilyk, I drawn to her attention that, due to the overrun of business prior to the start of the adjournment debate, there is only five minutes left before this debate concludes at 10.30.