Ali France (Dickson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to make a statement on the Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commission's yearly report to parliament. Gender based violence impacts one in three Australian women in their lifetime. One in six have survived sexual and physical violence. Women with a disability over the age of 15 are three times more likely than women without a disability or men with a disability to have experienced intimate partner violence. These are not just numbers; they represent lives shattered. The impacts of domestic violence ripple through communities, impacting families, children and friends.

I recently met Lauren in Petrie in my electorate. Lauren bravely told me about her experience of domestic and family violence and the devastating impact of her partner harming her beautiful newborn baby at just three months old. She spoke of the heartbreak and the guilt but also of the shame and the judgement she felt as a result of interactions with police and hospital staff, how she became homeless as a result of the abuse, the court battles she fought and the decade-long impact on her life and the lives of all those around her.

We all know in this place that her story is not unique. Since being elected to this place, I have sat with many women in my community who are struggling with the impacts of domestic violence. Even if they manage to leave their abusive partners, they still experience abuse, coercive control and financial manipulation by government and court systems. Lauren said something that has stayed with me: 'The shame I felt was indescribable.' No woman should ever have to feel that way for seeking help.

In her report, the commissioner expresses a clear sense of urgency, and this government shares that urgency. We have been relentless in our efforts to address gender based violence. Since coming to government, Labor has invested more than any Australian government ever—more than $4 billion in frontline services and preventive programs, as well as providing $3.9 billion in support for frontline legal assistance services. We've made the $5,000 leaving violence payment permanent, providing support for women leaving violence. Over 100,000 people have accessed this payment. We're investing $1.2 billion in emergency and transitional housing, and we've legislated 10 days of domestic violence leave.

We are supporting essential frontline services with $700 million in new match funding with the states and territories to support women and children at risk to reach safety. We're investing over $81 million to support children who are trying to heal, expanding services like child-specific counselling. We're investing over $21 million to expand trauma informed legal services and pilot new services to help victims of sexual violence navigate the justice system. We're investing over $82 million to detect, monitor and intervene earlier with high-risk and serial domestic violence offenders. We have reformed the family law system so that it is safer, simpler and more accessible.

Financial abuse is often hidden and unseen. Often it is a big reason why women feel it is impossible to leave an abusive relationship. Now, it's harder for perpetrators to use the social security system to leave survivors with tens of thousands of dollars in debt. That reduces the barriers to women and children leaving violent relationships.

We recently released 'Our Ways—Strong Ways—Our Voices', the first ever national Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander plan to end family, domestic and sexual violence. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women are seven times more likely to be the victims of intimate partner homicide and 27 times more likely than non-Indigenous women to be hospitalised due to family violence.

On the international day for the prevention of family, domestic and sexual violence, the Albanese Labor government announced a 40 per cent funding increase to the 1800RESPECT line, a 24-hour sexual assault, family and domestic violence counselling line for any and all Australians. Last financial year, 1800RESPECT received a whopping 342,000 calls, video calls, online chats and texts.

Today Minister Plibersek and Assistant Minister Kearney announced a 72 per cent funding boost for our frontline family, domestic and sexual violence workforce. The Albanese Labor government will invest $291.7 million for the next phase of the 500 Workers Initiative, supporting the workforce and recognising the specialist skills and expertise they have to support women and children fleeing violence.

Frontline workers are often the first, most trusted point of contact for victims-survivors. By investing in them, we're investing in the safety of every woman and child they reach. We are working to adapt to new challenges, We're addressing the impact of online harms through our social media ban and by restricting access to predatory technologies like nudify apps and undetectable stalking tools.

While we have put decades of work into fighting domestic and family violence, it never seems to be enough, which is just gutting for gen Xers like me. Some of us feel that our hard-fought changes in this space are being eroded and that antifemale, gender biased, misogynistic talk is on the rise. The key messages and lines of the manosphere online are seeping into the relationships of our young people—undermining women's rights, reducing social barriers to abuse and promoting rigid traditional ideas of masculinity. Women are still dying—58 women in 2025. Women are still fighting to keep their children and themselves alive. This year, so far, eight women have died at the hands of a partner or former partner. Eight women have been failed by the systems that were supposed to protect them and their families. It's just not good enough; it's devastating.

We will keep adapting to emerging challenges. We will work even harder to help women and children to reach safety and heal. We will better support children to recover and thrive. We will prioritise the most effective ways to change the behaviour of men who use violence. And, as we continue steadfast in our commitment, we will listen to the voices of survivors, seek guidance from experts and be informed by evidence, because everyone deserves to live without fear of violence.

I want to thank the commissioner and the team for their hard work towards addressing and ending violence against women and children in all its forms, and I really want to acknowledge our amazing Labor women's caucus, led by Ministers Gallagher and Plibersek and Assistant Ministers Kearney and White. Thank you for all of your work in this space.

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