Larissa Waters (Queensland, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Madam Deputy President, congratulations on your retention of that role.

Sue Lines (WA, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you.

Larissa Waters (Queensland, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to give my condolences and to name the women who have been killed by violence so far this year, overwhelmingly by their partners or former partners. Tomorrow, of course, we have a full day to celebrate and commemorate the life and the sad passing of former Prime Minister Bob Hawke. But what do these women get? Their names won't be recorded in the annals of this place, and they had six months under the then new Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, of not a single acknowledgment of the epidemic of violence against women. What we have now heard is some belated and, in my view, vastly inadequate funding for frontline services. So I rise tonight to put their names on the record, and to commemorate and to mourn their loss.

Since the start of 2019 there have been 26 women killed by violence in Australia. We know that because of the work of the Counting Dead Women Australia project, which is undertaken by a not-for-profit organisation called Destroy the Joint. There is no official national government reporting of the number of women killed by violence. We have a national road toll but we don't have any official commemoration or notation of this epidemic of death of women. Yet we know that, on average, one woman a week is murdered by her partner or her former partner. We know that one in three Australian women has experienced physical violence since the age of 15. We know that one in five Australian women has experienced sexual violence. We know that one in six Australian women has experienced physical or sexual violence by a current or former partner, and we know that one in four Australian women has experienced emotional abuse by a current or former partner. Australian women are nearly three times more likely than men to experience violence from an intimate partner. There's growing evidence that women with disabilities are more likely to experience violence, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women report experiencing violence in the past 12 months at 3.1 times the rate of non-Indigenous women. We know that in 2014-15 Indigenous women were 32 times more likely than non-Indigenous women to be hospitalised due to family violence.

I will name these women in just a moment, but it is clear what we need to do to tackle this epidemic. We need to recognise that domestic violence is the real national security crisis and treat it as such in this place. We need to adequately fund frontline domestic violence and crisis housing services to make sure that every single woman and child, and the odd man, seeking safety can access those services when they need them and to make sure that no-one is turned away in their hour of need. It's perfectly clear we need to legislate for 10 days of paid family and domestic violence leave so that women don't have to choose between paying the bills and staying alive. We need to implement all 25 of the recommendations of the 2015 Senate inquiry into domestic violence in Australia, which I was proud to initiate. And, just like the road toll, we need to maintain and publish an official real-time national toll of women killed by violence in Australia. These figures aren't changing and this epidemic is not easing. These women are being killed. I want to now name them for posterity and to recognise and celebrate their lives cut so short and so unfairly.

In Queensland, just yesterday, the 26th woman this year was killed by violence. She's an unnamed 52-year-old woman who was found dead at a home in Ipswich, near Brisbane, after suffering fatal wounds to her neck. Her 58-year-old partner has been charged with her murder.

Also in Queensland, on 27 June, a 27-year-old unnamed woman was taken to Kowanyama health clinic with stab wounds to her neck and upper torso after emergency services were called about a disturbance. She was pronounced dead shortly thereafter. A 29-year-old man known to the woman is now in custody. He has not been charged and is assisting police with their inquiries.

In Victoria on 25 June, the body of Cate O'Brien, who was 31, was found by police at a home in Gardenvale in Melbourne. Shea Sturt, 33, believed to have been known to Ms O'Brien, was arrested at the scene and has been charged with her murder.

On 18 June, emergency services were called to the rear of a unit complex in the Sydney suburb of Zetland after the discovery of a woman believed to have fallen from a fifth-floor balcony. Despite the efforts of emergency responders, Shuyu Zhou, who was 23, died at the scene of severe injuries. Zixi Wang, 29, also known as Jessie, who is believed to have been in a relationship with Ms Zhou, was arrested and is helping police with inquiries. No further details are known at present.

The 22nd woman killed this year, in WA on 29 May, was Jelagat Cheruiyot, who was 34. She was found dead at her home in Osborne Park after she was reported missing by family and friends. No cause of death has been given, but, due to the nature of her injuries, police have declared a homicide. They believe that she may have been killed up to a week earlier and are seeking information from the public.

In Victoria, on 25 May, the 21st woman this year was killed. The body of Courtney Herron, who was 25, was discovered by dog walkers among a group of logs at Royal Park. Police have revealed that Ms Herron was bashed to death in a horrendous crime. Henry Hammond, who was 27 and known to Ms Herron, has been charged with her murder.

The 20th woman this year was killed on 18 May, after emergency services responded to a report that Gihan Kerollos, who was 47, had been injured in Barker Street, Randwick, in Sydney, in a domestic violence incident. She died of stab wounds at the scene. Her husband, who was 60, was arrested and has been charged with her murder.

On 1 May in Victoria, police and emergency services found the body of an unnamed woman, who was 87, after being called to her independent living unit at an aged-care facility at The Basin. An unnamed man, 88, believed to have been known to the woman, was arrested at the scene and charged with her murder.

On 24 April, at 6.30 in the morning, emergency services were called to Little Bourke Street in Melbourne, where Natalina Angok, who was 32, was found slumped against a wall. She died at the scene, and her partner, Christopher Bell, also 32, has been arrested and charged with her murder.

In New South Wales on 21 April, emergency services found the body of Syeda Hossain, who was 33, at the garage of her house in Minto. Her husband was arrested at the scene and has been charged with her murder.

In Victoria, the 16th woman killed was Vicki Ramadan, who was 77. Her body was found in her home at Sydenham on 6 April. She was last seen on 1 April, and it is believed that she was brutally assaulted in her home at some time over those last five days. Police are seeking public assistance to piece together any relevant information, including her movements during that time frame, and no further details are available at present.

In Western Australia, on 17 March, police found Caris Dann, who was 30, critically injured at her home in Moora. After emergency treatment at Moora Hospital, she was airlifted to Royal Perth Hospital, where she died of her injuries later that day. Amos Gunn, who was 21, was that day charged with her murder. It's not clear, at this point, if he was known to Ms Dann.

In New South Wales, the 14th woman was killed on 13 March. Gabriella Thompson, who was 27, died after suffering stab wounds to her neck at her Glendale home. She received treatment at the scene and was taken to John Hunter Hospital but died shortly afterwards. Police conducted a major manhunt and on 14 March confronted her ex-partner, Tafari Walton, who was 21. He was shot dead by police after he allegedly threatened them with a knife.

The 13th woman was killed on 5 March. The body of Preethi Reddy, 32, was found crammed into a suitcase and hidden in her parked car in Kingsford, Sydney. She'd been missing for two days. Her ex-partner Harsh Narde is suspected of killing her but died, after being questioned, by crashing his car into a truck. Police investigations are ongoing.

In Victoria on 2 March, paramedics were called to a home at Neerim South, where they found the body of an unnamed woman, 74. Her husband, 83, was found nearby with non-life-threatening injuries and was charged with murder on 25 June.

The 11th woman was killed in Victoria on 27 February. The body of Qin Wang, 57, was found at her sister's home in Burwood East. Police arrested her brother at the scene and charged him with her murder.

In New South Wales on 19 February, police and emergency services were called to a home in Woonona, where they found an unnamed 76-year-old woman who was unable to be revived. Her son has been charged with her murder.

The ninth woman killed this year died in New South Wales on 19 February. Marjorie Welsh was battered and left with life-threatening injuries at her home. She died in hospital on 19 February. Her house-cleaner was originally charged with attempted murder, and those charges were then upgraded to murder. There were several other women—and I notice that time is running out: Tamara Farrell, 31; Megan Kirley, who was aged 40; an unnamed woman aged 63; a woman aged in her forties; a woman aged 49; an unnamed 31-year-old woman; a 21-year-old woman; and a 30-year-old woman.

This is a national emergency, and this is the real national security crisis. Let's fund the services that help respond to these women in need and that do the work to prevent the culture that sees these figures. The women of Australia have had enough.

Sue Lines (WA, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Waters. Senator Steele-John.