Sussan Ley (Farrer, Liberal Party, Minister for the Environment) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Curtin for her question and acknowledge her leadership in this important area. Family, domestic and sexual violence in all the pernicious forms that it takes must stop, whether it be the sickening and, sadly, too frequent incidence of intimate partner violence or the emerging challenges of online abuse, harassment and stalking. Everyone has the right to safety in their homes, in their workplaces, in their places of study, in the community and online—everyone. I would like to acknowledge the many women and children who have spoken out about their own intensely personal and harrowing stories, often at their own cost. They are brave, and their leadership helps change the future for other women.

Within our $3.4 billion women's budget, we are committing $1.1 billion to women's safety, the largest single Commonwealth investment in women's safety in a federal budget—funding for prevention and frontline services, and perpetrator interventions; and research so we can build our evidence base, and for emerging issues, such as how technology is being increasingly used for coercive control. This budget represents the Commonwealth's down payment on the next Plan to Reduce Violence Against Women and their Children, which will commence in mid-2022. So there is further investment to follow, after the consultations which we will have with the states, including the national women's safety summit to be held on 29 and 30 July.

Among the comprehensive range of measures that the government is now committing to are: a new national partnership agreement with states and territories to bolster frontline family support to combat domestic and sexual violence; immediate financial assistance to women leaving violent relationships, delivering up to $5,000 to help establish a home away from violence; and more funds to the states and territories for legal services. Our most vulnerable women, many in rural and regional Australia, where I come from, who have been victims of violence will now be able to get help from a local community legal centre—a door that previously had not been open to everyone. The women who work in those centres understand the needs of those who walk through that door. The government is steadfast in its commitment to improve services and outcomes for women and children, and I know that I'm joined by all members of this place who stand by that resolution.

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