Bert Van Manen (Forde, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I would like to thank the other members who have spoken on this motion and to speak today in this place about White Ribbon Day. I am proud to say that, as a White Ribbon ambassador, I support fully the many organisations in my electorate of Forde that do so much terrific work to help women who find themselves in this very difficult situation.

White Ribbon Day is about all Australian men standing up and speaking out to prevent men's violence against women, because making women safe is an issue for us men as well. As the member for Lingiari has just touched on, this is not to say that all Australian men are guilty of domestic violence. There are many good men in all of our communities who do a tremendous amount of work to help eradicate this scourge. Yet, sadly, still one in six Australian women have experienced violence from a current or former partner.

White Ribbon Day is held annually on 25 November and signals the start of 16 days of local work to stop violence against women. This day is significant in highlighting a major issue in our country. Putting an end to domestic violence is something our communities should be working towards every day. Domestic and family violence is preventable and can be stopped. Victims of violence often live in fear for themselves and their families, even when they have left an abusive relationship.

Over the past 18 months, significant progress has been made in the Australian community in raising awareness of domestic and family violence. As a government, we are addressing what should be a simple goal—that is, that all Australians deserve a life free from violence. Too many times we have witnessed the devastating impact domestic and family violence has on our community. These tragic deaths of women and children highlight the need for continued action. Domestic, family and sexual violence is unacceptable in any circumstances, and I commend the Prime Minister and the government for pledging a $100 million package to fight against it. The package of measures provides a safety net for women and children at high risk of experiencing violence. It also improves frontline support services, looks to using innovative technological solutions to help keep women safe, and provides educational resources to help change community attitudes towards violence and abuse. More than $21 million from the package has been allocated to specific measures to help Indigenous women and communities, who are at even higher risk, as the members for Leichhardt and Lingiari spoke on at length.

Putting a stop to domestic violence remains a national priority, and the government is acting to put an end to violence against women and children. In my electorate of Forde, the Logan police district has established a dedicated domestic violence and management team. Led by Larissa Shaw, herself a victim of domestic violence, this team takes a proactive approach to dealing with high-risk domestic violence matters, and I want to commend them on the work that they have done in this space. I know from talking to them that it is a very difficult job and that it is not pleasant having to walk into many of the situations they have to deal with. This is a tremendously positive step from our hardworking police force, who are committed to making our community safer for everybody. One of the things they have managed to do with this program is to identify those families who are at higher than normal risk due to other activities that go on with those families, in particular drug and alcohol abuse. Through their work they have been able to mitigate a number of circumstances and rescue the women and children from a very dangerous situation. Logan Women's health, as well, do a tremendous job helping women in very difficult circumstances.

I commend everybody in my community and communities right around Australia for the terrific work they do to help reduce and remove the scourge of domestic violence. On White Ribbon Day I stand with the other men in our community and share my support for ending domestic and family violence in our country.

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