Wendy Askew (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Families and Social Services, Senator Ruston. Can the minister please update the Senate on how the Morrison government is helping people to have the tools and confidence to ensure that disrespectful behaviours are not learned in childhood?

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

I thank Senator Askew for her very important question. Today I'm very pleased to be able to advise the chamber that last night the first ads in stage 3 of the Stop it at the Start campaign began airing on national television. We did this, along with a number of other measures, to make sure that we gave the Australian public the tools and the confidence to call out disrespectful behaviour when they see it. We know that early intervention is absolutely the key to giving adults the opportunity to play a role in making sure that all Australians feel safe in their own homes, in their communities and online. Last week, to mark International Women's Day, Minister Payne and I announced and launched the third phase of this campaign, which is targeted at the prevention of family and domestic violence perpetrated against women and their children.

The Stop it at the Start campaign challenges disrespectful attitudes and behaviours that can often be learnt in childhood and, if left unchecked, may escalate into violence. Specifically the campaign is about telling Australians to unmute themselves, to speak up. If you see disrespectful behaviour, don't ignore it, don't excuse it. You need to speak up and call it out. Research which we've conducted shows that four out of five of us agree that violence against women is driven by disrespectful behaviour. But many people do not feel confident to call out that disrespectful behaviour when they see it. Each and every one of us does have a role to play in making sure that every one of us feels safe. Taking action on this issue may seem overwhelming. But if we all take small steps together and we show respect then maybe—maybe—we actually can change the dial here. We know that not all disrespectful behaviour results in violence, but all violence has started with disrespectful behaviour.

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

Senator Askew, a supplementary question?

Opposition senators interjecting—

Order on my right.

Wendy Askew (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Can the minister explain how the Morrison government is supporting Australians who are experiencing or at risk of experiencing domestic violence?

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

There is no excuse for family or domestic violence. Last year, during the COVID pandemic, we were faced with a potential crisis, which we sought to respond to by providing a $150 million domestic violence response package to make sure that the states and territories had the frontline capacity to respond to any increases in domestic violence as a result of the lockdowns from the COVID pandemic. This is in addition to the $340 million, a record investment, that we invested in the fourth action plan, and also the guaranteeing of the ongoing commitment to the 1800RESPECT, 24-hour a day, seven-day a week hotline, and making sure that future funding was locked in in perpetuity. We're currently in the process of consulting on the next plan, which will commence in 2022, and we want to listen to all Australian, all people who are impacted, to make sure that we have the best possible plan going forward.

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

Senator Askew, a final supplementary question?

Wendy Askew (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Can the minister advise on what services are available for people experiencing domestic, family or sexual violence?

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

We certainly understand that reaching out for help can be quite difficult for people, so to make sure that free and confidential advice is at the end of the phone at all times we have funded 1800RESPECT and we'll continue to make sure that this service is available to every single Australian who may wish to access advice, counselling or support or merely find out what they should do next in a situation of domestic violence.

As said, during the coronavirus lockdown there was a shift in how people decided that they wanted to respond, and we saw a significant increase in the number of people that were seeking to use online and telephone services as a way of accessing support. The national manager of 1800RESPECT, Melonie Sheehan, said:

More people are calling the service in the very late hours, closer to midnight and we have also seen an increase in people contacting us via webchat as this may be when and how people feel more comfortable or safer to seek support.