Anne Webster (Mallee, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Women. Will the minister please update the House on the bipartisan approach adopted by successive Commonwealth governments to reduce violence against women and children, particularly through the national action plan?

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

I thank the member for Mallee for her question. Her work with vulnerable young mothers and their children, through her Zoe Support service, is incredibly well known and well recognised across rural Australia.

There is no excuse for family and domestic violence, and everyone does have a role to play, including governments. In fact, it was the Gillard government that commenced the first National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children, which started in 2010 and led up to 2022. It had six national outcomes, including respectful relationships and holding perpetrators to account. Upon coming to government, we continued this process and, since 2013, we've committed more than a billion dollars to reduce violence against women and their children through a variety of initiatives. Many of them are focused on prevention, which is a key theme of the national action plan. We have boosted frontline and counselling services, provided safe places and developed prevention strategies for implementation in communities, workplaces and homes, including the very well-known Stop it at the Start campaign.

We're now working on the next National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children. We recognise that violence doesn't occur in isolation from issues such as justice, housing, health, disability, children and education, and they are all part of the work we are doing in our Social Services portfolio. I am looking forward to the next plan having an even stronger focus on rural and regional areas and rural and regional women. Sadly, the statistics are confronting: 23 per cent of women experience intimate partner violence in rural and regional Australia, compared to 15 per cent in the city. The unfortunate reality is that women in regional towns face incredible barriers to accessing support. Sometimes there is just nowhere to go, particularly when everyone knows who you are. I know the member for Mallee and other members look forward to leading those local consultations about how we can do more.

There are many things we are doing. As I said yesterday, we're not standing still. In addition to the 24-hour support line, 1800RESPECT, successive governments have looked at providing special training to frontline workers, including in general practice in rural and regional Australia, helping the people who are there on the spot to recognise the signs of domestic violence and give people the confidence to come forward to them. We've provided additional funding to White Ribbon Day, expanding it into rural and regional areas and promoting men who stand up and say they will not tolerate these things. The focus on shifting attitudes and early intervention is happening through a range of measures. Violence against women and their children is never acceptable. This government and this parliament is committed to stopping it.