Kerrynne Liddle (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Child Protection and the Prevention of Family Violence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I join with others in welcoming the Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commissioner's annual statement on the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children. In a nutshell, the commissioner's report says the evidence is in: we need better data. Well, we should just get on with it. Already on record is the government's slow delivery on its headline commitment to 500 frontline service workers, with only 136 delivered to date. Innovative perpetrator responses are also behind schedule.

We are on a unity ticket, though, in wanting to end family violence. There is shared commitment to the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children, informed by more than 3,000 contributions. The commissioner's report tells us we need more focus on the national plan's governance and a sharper focus on children and young people. Sixty per cent of calls to Kids Helpline go unanswered.

The scale of sexual violence and incest needs greater spotlight. Men must be included in actions, with greater focus on them in assessment and response to risk. Lived experience must also be part of the solution, and, while the evidence for demand is in, good, consistent, reliable and timely data is important in ensuring the effective deployment of resources.

This week I heard another heartbreaking story of yet another family devastated by a young woman's entirely preventable death. Community legal services talk of the need for greater funding certainty because uncertainty is affecting their ability to do their business and respond. For every client they turn away, there are two people seeking help.

The solutions sit with every single Australian—just as it is that every single incident and death is preventable. Every single one is preventable, when prevention and early intervention are effective and people are able to access strategies to affect it.