Andrew Nikolic (Bass, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

As a husband, as a father of two grown daughters and as a White Ribbon ambassador from Tasmania I have great pleasure in speaking on this important motion. I commend the member for Gellibrand and the member for Fowler for moving it. White Ribbon Day tomorrow marks the 11th year of getting the message out that we have to do more to acknowledge, address and eliminate violence against women. We have to keep reminding our community of the sobering statistics and, while we have heard them this morning, I think it is worthwhile repeating them again. One in three Australian women over 15 will experience physical violence, one in five will experience sexual violence at some point in their life and an Australian woman will die every week from domestic violence, more than likely killed in her own home by her male partner. It is an equally sobering statistic that already in 2014 we have exceeded that weekly statistic.

Sadly, an overwhelming majority of women who experience physical and sexual violence do not report it. Often it is because of the perceived lack of options to escape the violence. Imagine how awful the situation must be if putting up with the violence is somehow a better option than escaping it. I know from my younger years the pain that this sort of violence can inflict, not just on the innocent female victim but more often than not on the extended members of the family and more often than not on the children in those families. I have seen the effects of the violence more recently in visits to women's shelters in my electorate of Bass, where the somehow intractable nature of this problem seems to persist despite our best efforts—it clearly illustrates that we have to do more.

Thankfully, most men do not commit violence against women and they exercise the sort of respect that we should take for granted in Australia in 2014. But it is nevertheless men—a small cohort of men—who cause women and children to experience pain and often homelessness, to experience the sort of shame and hopelessness that we have heard about this morning, for reasons that make no sense and that no person in this country in 2014 should ever accept. The consequences of this violence are unacceptably high social and economic costs, costs that will only grow unless attitudes and behaviours change. I believe the male-dominated nature of the problem imposes a special obligation on us men to do more in response. I encourage men to take the pledge to wear the white ribbon and to share in that collective commitment, that strong collective countenance, that we will stop violence by men against women.

I am pleased to say that, in my hometown of Launceston, we have a strong group of White Ribbon Ambassadors who are determined to make a difference. Led by our chairman, Warwick Cuthbertson, with influencers like mayor Albert Van Zetten, headmasters like Stephen Norris, treasurer Peter Gutwein, Senator Stephen Parry, and the wonderful Carol Fuller amongst others, it is a group that punches above its weight in advocating for change on this important issue. This year, apart from the usual window displays, balloons and banners, we have a Walk a Mile in Her Shoes event where you will see men making the effort to walk in ladies heels through Launceston's Brisbane Street Mall, quite literally walking a mile in a woman's shoes. It is led by my mate and fellow Lions club member and Northern Tasmanian White Ribbon Ambassador, Phil Crowden. Several high profile men are involved including the CEO of the Tasmanian Health Organisation, John Kirwan, and the Tasmania Fire Service chief, Mike Brown. I mention my friend John Kirwan, who, as head of the Launceston General Hospital, sees a lot of the sad results of domestic violence in my community.

Violence against women requires leadership by influencers in our society, as well as grassroots cultural change. We need people to speak out not just on White Ribbon Day but at every opportunity. I encourage people to visit the White Ribbon website at www.whiteribbon.org.au to see how they can make a difference. The resources on this site contain useful material for those who need help, particularly contact numbers, and there is help for women if they want to escape a violent situation. It also contains advice and strategies for how we can help someone who is experiencing violence.

Again, I commend the members for Gellibrand and Fowler and the other speakers for giving this issue well-deserved attention and I encourage everyone around the country, particularly men, to rally around this important cause.

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