Debate resumed, on motion by Mrs Mirabella:

That the House:

(1)

recognises that Wednesday 25 November 2009 is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, the symbol of which has become the White Ribbon;

(2)

applauds the work done by the White Ribbon Foundation of Australia to raise awareness amongst all Australians of the fact that many women and their children live with violence, or the threat of violence every day of their lives;

(3)

notes that approximately 350,000 women will experience some form of physical violence and 125,000 women will experience sexual violence each year;

(4)

encourages all Australians to speak out against all forms of violence and when necessary take action against violence that may be occurring within their community;

(5)

notes that violence against women costs the Australian people $13.6 billion annually;

(6)

notes that the Rudd Government has squandered $16.2 billion on the Deputy Prime Minister’s Building the Education Revolution program while committing less than one third of a per cent of that amount ($55.2 million) to address this insidious problem; and

(7)

condemns the Government for failing to commit any new money in response to the Time for Action Report while rebadging initiatives which were funded under the previous Coalition Government’s Women’s Safety Agenda.

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