Perin Davey (NSW, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Marielle Smith for raising this very important issue, particularly on this day, which is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Family, sexual and domestic violence cannot be condoned or tolerated. Our government is absolutely committed to doing all it can to try to eliminate family and domestic violence from our nation; however, it is everyone's business. We must remember that we need to educate our young people so that they understand what coercive control and domestic violence are so that from a very young age they know how to see it, call it out and stop it.

Our government has provided funding. Contrary to what Senator Smith was saying, our government delivered the landmark $3.4 billion Women's Budget Statement in the 2021-22 budget. This has had a record $2 billion investment for women's security initiatives since 2013, which includes $1.1 billion in the latest Women's Budget Statement. We held the National Summit on Women's Safety and we're currently developing the next National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and Children. That includes investing $22.4 million over five years to establish the Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commission. As I've said before, this commission does not absolve anyone else of responsibility in this issue, but it does establish a single point, the commission, that can work with all governments and all community groups to provide a crucial accountability mechanism to make sure that our collective efforts are focused on ending violence.

Senator Smith referred to the Labor Party's commitment for 500 new frontline workers. While that sounds commendable on the surface, you have to be concerned about where the funding for that is coming from. Will they be withdrawing the funding from the existing $1 million investment that the Morrison government has made to work with the states and territories for domestic and family violence responses? We are working with them. We are funding through a national partnership agreement because that way ensures that our response is targeted, fit for purpose and meets local needs, which differ across the country. People here have quite rightly highlighted that the response in our remote, regional and Indigenous communities is going to be different to the response that is rolled out in Sydney or Canberra. Our government's approach, rather than Canberra dictating how money must be spent—like the Labor Party will: 'Here's 500 new workers and we'll employ them and we'll put them in our offices'—will be to provide flexibility to those with the knowledge on the ground to allow additional support to expand frontline services; to provide safe accommodation where needed; to provide perpetrator interventions; and to provide helplines, counselling services and training. That is how we will help eliminate violence against women in this country. We'll provide the support services that are needed, the training and the early education for all of our community, so we that can all work together to end the scourge of domestic violence.

Across Australia I would say that every single Australian knows someone who has been a victim of some form of family and domestic violence, but it is still not spoken about and there are still many victims of domestic violence who do not speak about it, who do not come forward. We need to support those people. We need to wrap our arms around them and say that we are here for them, that we are listening to them and that our government is committed to providing that support.