Claire Chandler (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Families and Social Services, Senator Ruston. What is the Morrison government doing to address the scourge of domestic and family violence?

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

Obviously, violence against women and their children is absolutely abhorrent. It's as simple as that, and we must never ever make any excuses for the sorts of behaviours that are perpetrated under situations of domestic and family violence. This isn't just limited to physical violence. It could be verbal, it could be sexual, it could be emotional and it could be financial. We believe that this must be stamped out in all its forms. It is completely unacceptable that any woman or her child should feel unsafe in Australia at the hands of a partner or a previous partner.

That is why we have a target of zero tolerance, in relation to domestic violence, and we have committed the largest ever amount of money towards achieving that through the fourth action plan. Particularly, we want to make sure that men take responsibility for their own attitudes and their behaviours, and we want to encourage them to seek the necessary help that they need to change those attitudes and behaviours. Last week, as part of the overall commitment of $340 million, we announced $2.4 million to go towards four specific programs to assist men, to help them make the behavioural changes that they need, to make sure that they end their use of control, of abusive behaviour and other problematic behaviours that lead, eventually, to a level of violence.

While it's absolutely essential that we continue to provide the level of financial resources to enable frontline services, to be able to meet the demands and respond to the issues that come before them, money alone is not going to change the dial. What we need to do is we need to change everybody's attitudes but, particularly, we need to make sure that those attitudes are changed to start with respect. It's very important that we make sure that the language that we talk about is a language of respect for everybody.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Chandler, a supplementary question.

Claire Chandler (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Can the minister outline to the Senate what measures the government is funding to stop domestic violence before it starts?

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

As I said, it is an absolute goal of this government to make sure that we respond to domestic, family and sexual violence, but we have an additional goal and an additional responsibility, and that is to prevent it from happening in the first place. To that end, we will be continuing our campaign of Stop It At The Start. This campaign recognises that to break the cycle of domestic violence we have to encourage adults to reflect on their behaviours, on their actions and their attitudes and the impact that they have on our children, and about how children deal with and develop respectful relationships.

It explains that our actions and our language as parents, as family members, as teachers, as coaches, as role models, are very, very important, in terms of determining the influence that they have on young people. This is a three-phased approach. The first two phases, about bringing awareness to the issue and dealing with misinterpretation, have already occurred. The third phase is about to begin.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Chandler, a final supplementary question.

Claire Chandler (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Can the minister explain what frontline services the government is investing in to reduce domestic violence?

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

In addition to making sure that we deal with the issues of prevention, we are also making sure that the main frontline responders are showing real leadership. We want to stand by the states and the territories to make sure that we work with them to strengthen their response actions, whether it be with services or whether it be with law enforcement.

One example of the kinds of actions that we think are really, really important and we continue to be committed to is the funding of the 1800RESPECT phone line. This has become an absolute central pillar of the assistance that we give to women, and sometimes to men, when they are confronted with a situation of domestic violence—to make sure that 24 hours a day, seven days a week, anybody who is confronted with a situation of domestic violence can pick up the phone and make a phone call and speak to someone who can assist them, in making sure that they can give them the support and direction to deal with the issue that is before them.