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

I move:

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) 10 December 2020 is the last day of the United Nations' 16 Days of Activism, recognising violence against women as one of the world's most persistent violations of human rights,

(ii) the 2020 theme, 'Fund, Respond, Prevent, Collect', calls for funding for frontline family and domestic violence (FDV) services, investment in prevention programs, and data collection regarding the scale of the crisis, and

(iii) in Australia:

(A) 50 women have been killed by violence in 2020,

(B) no national government toll reports women killed by violence in real time,

(C) 1 in 3 women have experienced physical violence and, on average, one woman is murdered every week by her current or former partner,

(D) women are nearly three times more likely than men to experience intimate partner violence and 2.5 times more likely to be hospitalised from FDV,

(E) young women, women with disabilities, and First Nations women are more likely to experience violence, and

(F) demand for FDV services has risen significantly during COVID-19; and

(b) calls on the Government to:

(i) recognise violence against women as a national security crisis, and

(ii) fully fund FDV and prevention services so all those seeking safety can get the help they need.

Jonathon Duniam (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Forestry and Fisheries) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a short statement.

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

Leave is granted for one minute.

Jonathon Duniam (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Forestry and Fisheries) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Domestic and family violence is a scourge, and its impact is horrific. This government swiftly committed $150 million to the domestic-violence-specific COVID-19 support package, now fully distributed to states and territories. This funding is on top of the $340 million the Commonwealth had already invested in the fourth-action-plan initiatives and the new ongoing 1800RESPECT funding in the 2020-21 budget. On the international day for the elimination of violence, the government also announced the three new providers of specialised family violence services in the Northern Territory.

Pauline Hanson (Queensland, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a short statement.

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

Leave is granted for one minute.

Pauline Hanson (Queensland, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

One Nation recognises the scourge of family and domestic violence that does not discriminate against women or men. As identified in heterosexual, same-sex relationships, physical altercations between couples are not a matter of power imbalance. At a time when society continually seeks equality, whether that be in wages or employment, this motion fails to recognise the need for equal frontline funding for men's and women's domestic violence programs. Until this chamber acknowledges the hurt of domestic violence experienced by both sexes, One Nation will not support this motion.

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

The question is that the motion moved by Senator Waters be agreed to.