Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This year we've already had a number of very painful reminders of why, as a nation, we have to be relentless in our commitment to end domestic, family and sexual violence. We have to make sure that every child has the opportunity to grow up safe, loved and hopeful for their future. Like so many Australians, I was shocked and heartbroken when I heard that Sophie Quinn, her unborn baby, her aunt Nerida Quinn and her friend John Harris had been killed.

I'm just as devastated that Sophie and Nerida were two of at least six women who have been killed in the last two months alone. Every single death reminds us of what is at stake. That's why we will continue, as a government, to address the gaps that remain in our national effort to reinforce what works and to make sure that we adapt to the pervasiveness of family, domestic and sexual violence. We understand that the character of this violence changes over time, including as technology changes. We've made the leaving violence payment permanent so that women have the financial support they need to leave. We've invested in responses to perpetrators of violence that break that cycle of violence. We're investing more than any government before, with over $4 billion since 2022, and, of course, an additional $3.9 billion into legal services as well.

But it's not just about dollars spent; we have to drive a seismic shift in our community. The Commonwealth government has a real, large and serious degree of responsibility here, and so do the states and territories, but so do all of us in our individual lives have a responsibility to shift the culture that turns a blind eye to violence—or worse, tacitly permits it.

We need to take account of changes in technology, and that's why we've taken world-leading action to address the impact of harmful technology like nudify apps and undetectable stalking tools. It's why we're investing in educating young men and boys, in particular, about consent and healthy relationships. We know that there are a lot of amazing role models out there doing fantastic work. We need to make sure that more young men and boys have that influence in their lives.

It's why we're investing in essential frontline services, it's why we're making sure that universities respond appropriately to the unacceptable rates of sexual assault on campus, and it's why we're making changes to the family law system, as well, to make sure that the presumption of shared responsibility is properly understood so that we continue to put the best interests of children at the very heart of any decisions in family law. This is about making sure that all of our systems work for victims of family, domestic and sexual violence.

Today I was very proud to introduce a bill establishing an independent National Commission for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People. We know that there are still too many gaps for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people when it comes to starting school with developmental delays and when it comes to the way that mainstream services, like our big health and education systems, serve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. It's why we need to address the unacceptable number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children entering our out-of-home care systems and juvenile justice systems.

We need to make sure that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander kids can expect all of the same good things as any child in this country: great education systems, starting school school-ready, thriving through their schooling years with a great job at the end of it, and specialist systems that work for them, too. At the moment, we know that we're letting too many children down. We have the opportunity to change that and, as a government, we are absolutely committed to doing that.

Question agreed to.

F ederation Chamber adjourned at 13:32