Teresa Gambaro (Brisbane, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Citizenship and Settlement) Share this | Hansard source

I too am pleased to speak to the motion on domestic violence that the member for Kingston has placed on the Notice Paper. More than half—58 per cent—of the 1,125 homicides of females in Australia over a nine-year period were committed by an intimate partner. That figure is absolutely staggering. As mentioned in the motion, two-thirds of Australian women who have experienced domestic violence by their current partner are in paid employment. I pay tribute to government programs and non-government organisations which play a very important role in our community. They offer refuge and assistance to victims of domestic violence and run educational and awareness programs to try to eradicate the problem, which really should have no place in our society. I pay particular tribute to two organisations in my electorate—the 139 Club and Good Sam's—who provide counselling and help for women who find themselves homeless. I was happy to join both these organisations recently in their fundraising ventures.

The motion we are debating tonight deals with the impact that domestic violence can have on the employment of women and on their contribution in the workplace and with the role that employers can play in helping those who suffer. Domestic violence is a very sensitive issue for any employer with workers who have experienced or who currently experience domestic violence. The psychological trauma and the mental effect it has on sufferers is terrible, and that sometimes makes it really hard for employers to approach an employee to talk about it and see what they can do. Unfortunately, I know this experience too well. As a former manager of a retail establishment, one of my saddest duties was counselling and supporting victims of domestic violence who worked with me at the store.

As the member for Kingston has acknowledged in the motion, both the New South Wales and the Queensland public sector employment acts contain provisions to help employees who suffer from domestic violence, and many private businesses are now incorporating the same sorts of provisions into their employment contracts. We as members of parliament should congratulate those private businesses and do everything we can to encourage what they are doing to become normal practice.

I turn to Australia's CEO Challenge in Queensland, which began with a vision of a world without domestic violence and which today has grown into a passionate and influential organisation. I have been a proud supporter of and participant in many of their programs and fundraising events. Through fundraising and proactive business partnership, Australia's CEO Challenge facilitates aid for local refuges and shelters which support the people who are worst affected by domestic violence. It does this by bringing together two very important components of our society: the business world and community organisations. There are many statistics that are often quoted when we talk about domestic violence. The worst statistics I have seen have been in an analysis undertaken by KPMG management consultants which showed that the cost to the Australian economy of violence against women and their children was estimated at $13.6 billion in 2008-09 with projected costs increasing if there was no reduction in the current rates. They estimate that that will increase to $15.6 billion by 2021-22—indeed, staggering figures. There are financial reasons as well as moral reasons for employers to help deal with this issue either through employment contracts or other financial partnerships. It is really great to see this organisation, amongst the many other organisations that work in this area, directly advocating and directly encouraging businesses to play a much more positive role in making our society one that is free of domestic violence.

In conclusion, I fully support the motion and I commend it to the House.

Debate adjourned.

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