Luke Howarth (Petrie, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would like to take this opportunity to talk about an issue that sadly still affects many people in Australia. That issue is domestic violence against women. There are various forms of domestic violence, but I want to talk specifically about violence against women. The figures show that one in three women from the age of 15 suffer some sort of physical violence and that one in five experience sexual violence. These shocking statistics mean that everyone here in the chamber and everyone here in the gallery will know somebody affected by domestic violence.

Let me make it clear: it is never okay to hit a woman. It is never okay to commit domestic violence against a woman. I say to those men who are involved in it: 'Real men don't hit women. If you want to hit somebody, take up the sport of boxing. Take on someone your own size—because it is totally unacceptable.' We need to get rid of this out of our community. I say to the community of Petrie and the people listening to me today: 'Let's teach our children'. As a father, I teach my three young sons that when they grow up it is not ever okay to hit a woman. I talk about moderation with alcohol, about not drinking too much. We also need to teach our girls that relationships where violence occurs are not okay. If we see neighbours or hear neighbours in that situation, we should call the police immediately.