Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that:

(a) 25 November 2025 marks the United Nations' International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, beginning 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence;

(b) in Australia, it has been publicly reported that approximately 40 women have been killed by acts of violence so far this year;

(c) one in three Australian women have experienced physical and/or sexual violence perpetrated by a man since the age of 15;

(d) violence against women and girls impacts everyone, of all genders, ages, ethnicities, religions and socio-economic backgrounds, it does not discriminate and is almost always committed by men; and

(e) there is no excuse for violence against women and girls;

(2) commends the work that the Government has done so far in taking immediate and practical steps to support women and children to escape violence through significant investments; and

(3) recognises that there is still much more work to be done to prevent violence against women and children and create lasting change, which demands a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach to prevention, early intervention, response, recovery and healing, alongside strengthening the justice system and addressing issues like financial abuse and online safety.

It is with a heavy heart that I rise to speak on this motion marking the 16 days of activism against gender based violence. Gender based violence manifests in many ways, from coercive control to physical assault and, at its most devastating, the loss of women's lives. Since I last read the names of women killed by violence, 52 Australian women have lost their lives through acts of violence. Every year, I read this list in the hope that it will be the last, but, heartbreakingly, that day has not yet come.

Today, as we begin the 16 days of activism, we must recommit ourselves to ending this national emergency of violence against women and children   , and we honour the women whose lives were stolen this year. Let us honour and remember Sandra Dobrila, aged 41; Pauline Slater, in her 40s; Heang Kim Gau, aged 68; Zhuojun 'Sally' Li, just 33; Charlyz Hayter, aged 19; Khouloud Hawatt, aged 31; an unnamed woman aged 32; Chloe Mason, just 23; Yvonne Beres, 59; an unnamed woman aged 51; Merril Kelly, age unknown; Lilian Donnelly, 88; Rachel McKenna, aged 35; Rachel Moresi, aged 55; an unnamed woman aged 41; Crystal Beale, aged 49; Kara Weribone, 27; Irene Herzel, 78; Audrey Griffin, just 19; Cecilia Webb, aged 79; Czarina Tumaliuan, aged 42; Louise Hunt, age unknown; Thi Kim Tran, aged 45; an unnamed woman, 39; an unnamed woman, 28; Pheobe Bishop, aged 17; an unnamed woman aged 48; Muzhda Habibi, aged 23; Lauren Hopkins, 47; Norma Dutton, aged 85; Krystel Paul, aged 41; an unnamed woman aged 22; Leanne Akrap, aged 47; an unnamed woman aged 81; Amanda Rahman, aged 62; Shafeeqa Husseini, aged 41; Zoe Walker, 38; Athena Georgopoulos, aged 39; Summer Fleming, aged 20; Anu Kumar, aged 32; an unnamed woman aged 30; Carra Luke, aged 48; an unnamed woman aged 31; an unnamed woman aged 23; an unnamed woman aged 52; Irene Selmes, aged 84; an unnamed woman, age unknown; Jordana Johnson, just 36; an unnamed woman aged 58; Lisa Ward, aged 55; Rhukaya Lake, aged 39; and Marcia Chalmers, 86.

These are not just names on a page; they're daughters, sisters, aunties, mothers, grandmothers, friends and colleagues—women who should still be here today. We know their names and their stories because of the tireless and painful work of Counting Dead Women Australia researchers of Destroy the Joint, who maintain the national register of women killed through violence. They in turn rely on the responsible reporting of journalists across the country whose work documents this epidemic and makes sure these women are not erased or forgotten.

Ending gender based violence is a national priority for the Albanese Labor government and, I hope and I sincerely suspect, every single member of this parliament. It is something we all commit to. We can honour those women we have lost with action now, with urgency and with the unshakeable resolve that every woman and child has a right to live free from violence.

Mike Freelander (Macarthur, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

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

I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.

Sussan Ley (Farrer, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today, I rise to mark International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Sandra Dobrila, Yuko, Heang Kim Gau, Pauline Slater, Charlyze Hayter, Sally Li, Khouloud Hawatt, Chloe Jade Mason, Kristy Louise Hunter, Yvonne Beres, Mrs Multa, Katie Tangey, Merril Kelly, Lilian Catherine Donnelly, Rachel McKenna, Rachel Moresi, Justine Hammond, Elizabeth Pearce, Kara Jade Weribone, Crystal Beale, Audrey Griffin, Irene Herzel, Cecilia Webb, Czarina Gatbonton Tumaliuan, Louise Hunt, Claire Austin, Thi Kim Tran, Jocelyn Grace Mollee, Kylie Sanders, Kim Duncan, Talulah Koopman, Samia Malik, Caroline Smith, Muzhdah Habibi, Lauren Hopkins, Norma Diana Dutton, Krystel Paul, Pheobe Bishop, Leanne Akrap, Julia Neira Marican, Angela Gauld, Sally Bartlett, Shelley Spinks, Jeanette McIver, Amanda Rahan, Shafeeqa Husseini, Zoe Walker, Athena Georgopoulos and her unborn child, Summer Fleming, Anu, Ali Lauren, Carra Samantha Luke, Diane Harness, Ashleigh Grice, Carolyn Campbell, Ms Chainsaw, Rajwinder Kaur, Jordana Johnson, Lisa Ward, Rhukaya Lake, Irene Selmes, Marcia Chalmers and 12 more unnamed women from across our wide land, including those not named publicly for cultural reasons. These names are women, women taken from us—mothers, daughters, sisters, friends.

These women have been identified by the Red Heart Campaign, and I acknowledge Counting Dead Women Australia researchers of Destroy the Joint for recording the stories of these women. Today, I stand here in our national parliament and read these names into our national record, as I have done before and will do again, because these women matter. These names should echo through this building and across our country. Seventy-four women have been killed in Australia since this time last year.

Imagine these women surrounding us here today. What would they say? What would we do? Can we imagine what the response would be if 74 Australians were killed on a single day at a single event? It wouldn't just be me or the member opposite reading out their names; our nightly news would have them emblazoned across news packages. We as a country would stand together. We would lower flags. We would pause to reflect and to mourn. Their names would be etched into marble and memorialised and, year after year, we would reflect on the loss. These women's names and the names of those who have come before them are all too often lost—lost amidst the noise and lost amidst the silence—or spoken once in a blaring moment of national attention and then never again. It takes yet another horrific event to force us to reckon with the scale of the challenge this list of women represent.

But we don't need new horrors to remind us here today that violence against women is pervasive and present in every corner of our country. So how do we maintain the rage? How do we cut through? How do we overcome the fatigue? Let us use that hope to drive us, because we must not look away. We must continue to go into the dark places. We must continue to shine the light. These women have stories. These women have names. We must not ever forget them.

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

The date 25 November marks the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and the start of 16 days of activism against gender based violence. The statistics are sobering. I, too, join with my colleagues to acknowledge all those who have lost a loved one as a result of gender based violence. One in four women and one in 14 men have experienced violence from an intimate partner. Women with a disability are more than twice as likely to experience sexual violence. These are not just numbers. They represent lives shattered and trauma.

Recently, I met Lauren at a mobile office I held in Petrie. Lauren bravely shared with me her long and harrowing experience of domestic and family violence. Lauren's ordeal began in 2015 when her partner harmed her baby at just three months old. He was charged and incarcerated. But, for Lauren, that was only the beginning. She told me about the lack of support she received from police and the hospital. She was doing everything she could to protect her child, but the system made her feel like the criminal. After that, Lauren endured further violence and coercion from another partner. She became homeless. She fought court battles. Her child was placed into care. At one point, that abusive partner took out a domestic violence order against her, a move that prevented her from completing her nursing studies and left her as a single mother with significant student debt. Lauren told me that, at one stage, she stole petrol because she couldn't afford to fill up her car.

Lauren's story is heartbreaking, but what is even more confronting is that her story is not unique. There are thousands of Laurens across this country, women who are doing everything they can to protect themselves and their children yet find themselves trapped in systems that compound their trauma instead of alleviating it. Lauren's trauma reminds us that gender based violence is not just about physical harm. It is about power, control and the structures that allow abuse to persist. It is about the barriers that women face when they seek help—the fear of not being believed, the shame of being judged, finding a new home and the crushing weight of navigating complex legal and child protection systems while trying to survive.

The Albanese Labor government is committed to changing this. Since coming to government, Labor has invested more than any Australian government ever, more than $4 billion, in frontline services and preventive programs. We made the $5,000 leaving violence payment permanent, providing support for women leaving violence. We are investing in emergency accommodation and legislated 10 days domestic violence leave. Importantly, we expanded discretion for Centrelink so perpetrators can't use the social security system to leave survivors with tens of thousands of dollars in debt. And we have reformed the family law system so that it is safer, simpler and more accessible. But we know there is more we need to do. We know this because women are still dying, and fighting to keep themselves and their children alive and safe.

We're committed to making changes to prevent perpetrators from using the tax and social security systems for coercive control or financial abuse. We must ensure that, when women like Lauren reach out for help, they are met with compassion and tangible support. Lauren said something to me that has stayed with me. She said, 'The shame I felt was indescribable.' No woman should ever feel that way for seeking help, and every child has the right to grow up safe. I commend this motion to the House.

Aaron Violi (Casey, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Dickson for her contribution and for sharing that story, and I thank the member for Newcastle for moving this motion. The member for Newcastle is correct that an issue like this has bipartisan support. To sit here and listen to the member for Newcastle and the Leader of the Opposition share those names is a reminder for us all that we need to do more. We need to be better. We would love to be in a world where there were no lives lost to violence, but that world doesn't exist. We need to strive every day to get better.

The statistics are shocking—74 women lost in the last 12 months. In 2023-24, one woman was killed every eight days in this country. One woman was killed every eight days. One in four women have experienced domestic violence by a partner, which is 25 per cent of women in this country. That is completely unacceptable. Behind those statistics—the member for Dickson shared one story—we know there is a story for every one of those women. And it's not just the women that are impacted. It's their children. It's their parents. It's their loved ones. There are so many people in society impacted by this.

We need to understand—and this is the reason I'm standing here to speak—that it is not just the women of this parliament and the women of Australia that have a role to play. The leaders of the country, the men in this place and the men in communities have a role to play. We need to call out any inappropriate behaviour made by our friends, our colleagues and our workmates. We need to make sure that all men understand that violence is not acceptable in any circumstance. We need to hold them to account. We need to show courage and call it out when we see it. We need to understand that there is a better way and there is a different way. Early intervention is a key part of that.

I don't believe that men are evil, clearly. Of the men that perpetrate this, there are clearly a percentage that are evil. But I have to live in hope that, while we can't change what people have done, we can intervene with the younger generation. Can we stop this violence from occurring at an earlier age? I am proud to be part of Parliamentary Friends of Healthy Masculinities, which launched last week, with the member for Hunter, Dan Repacholi, and Senator David Pocock. It's an example of an organisation that is engaging with young men in their teenage years by having conversations with them and explaining to them that it's okay to share their weaknesses and be vulnerable. I, and so many others, grew up in a generation that was told that it was weak to speak. You had to be strong and you had to show strength at all times. And, once that armour is put up, day after day, week after week, year after year, some men can lose some of their humanity and lose touch with what they believe in, with who they are and with what they think is acceptable.

We need to continue to support organisations like the Man Cave to make sure that young men learn to be in touch with their emotions and to have conversations. They can't bottle it up and then have it come out in violence—whether it's against their partner or against another person that's just having a beer with their friends at the pub. We need to stop that cycle. We need to make sure that, if people do the wrong thing, there are serious consequences. The perpetrators have to be held to account. The families and the victims have to be protected by the police, by our court system, by the justice system. If you do the wrong thing, you deserve everything that is thrown at you.

This is not an issue, and not a challenge, that will be solved tomorrow. We wish it would be. It will take every day of this parliament, state parliaments, the judiciary and the police force working to improve these outcomes. The sad reality is that, even with all the goodwill that we have, we know we can't solve this problem overnight. Just because you can't solve a problem overnight doesn't mean that you stop trying. We can make a difference; we will make a difference. Motions like this are very important. As the member for Newcastle and the Leader of the Opposition did—those women that we lost should never be forgotten. Their names will now be in the Hansard forever. That is an important statement as we continue to improve as a society and make sure, hopefully, that one day there are no more names to be read out.

Mike Freelander (Macarthur, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The time allotted for this debate has expired. The debate is therefore adjourned. The resumption of the debate will be made an order for a later hour.