Kerrynne Liddle (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Indigenous Australians) Share this | Hansard source

The annual 16 Days of Activism against Gender Based Violence is underway. The human cost of violence in Australia is catastrophic, immeasurable and increasing. Since this time last year, 74 women have been killed by an intimate partner, but many more are injured and impacted. The financial cost of family violence to this country is $32 billion a year. It remains the main driver of homelessness for women and children. Frontline services continue to turn away about a thousand people a day. The four Closing the Gap targets going in the wrong direction—adult incarceration, children in out-of-home care, suicide and children commencing school not developmentally on track—are fuelled by violence. Indigenous Australians are disproportionately represented in statistics, and multicultural groups remain largely invisible. It is a scourge that does not discriminate, though. It is an issue for everyone.

In my home state of South Australia, family violence offences are up six per cent on last year. Our state royal commission provides recommendations, but the key here is not words but action delivering on the contribution of those significant consultations. Attending Rotary Foundation Australia's Purple Waves of Change at Moana Beach in South Australia on the weekend and Djirra's annual walk in Canberra focused attention on the impact on Indigenous women. It's clear the will exists; what we need to do is find more ways. It is work that must be supported by national coordination and consistency of approach, though recognising that there are local solutions, and having the courage to move past reviews and into implementation. The key lies in what Australians do every day and government being prepared do more of what the evidence says we should do more of and being brave about not doing what we know isn't working hard enough to change these statistics.