Mr Speaker, I rise today to re-affirm the government's enduring commitment to ending gender-based violence.
I would like to acknowledge victims and survivors of domestic, family and sexual violence and remember the women and children who have been killed - too often, by men who claimed to love them.
So many Australians have been touched by gender-based violence.
They have supported a friend.
They have been terrified for a sister.
They themsleves have felt trapped themselves in a cycle of abuse.
This is a tragically common story.
But it can't be the norm for the next generation.
As a government, we are determined to drastically change this reality.
Today, I am tabling the Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commissioner's yearly report to the parliament.
I thank Commissioner Cronin, her team, and the Lived Experience Advisory Council who are joining us in the gallery today for their thorough work on the yearly report and for their ongoing advice to government.
I also want to thank Assistant Minister Kearney for her incredible work.
The National Plan to End Violence Against Women and Children is a collaborative effort with state and territory governments across the country.
Together, we must be accountable for driving measurable change.
Because one in four women has experienced intimate partner violence since the age of 15.
And one in five women has experienced sexual violence.
Mr Speaker, our government is absolutely focused on reducing the incidence of this violence.
We are addressing gaps in our efforts, reinforcing what works and adapting to the pervasiveness of this problem.
From making the Leaving Violence Payment permanent, so women have the financial support they need to leave - to investing in perpetrator responses that break the cycle of violence.
We are investing more than any government ever before - more than $4 billion since 2022.
But this is about more than just the dollars spent.
It's about driving a seismic shift to end this violence.
It may shock people to know that the first thing that happens when someone arrives at a women's refuge is a thorough check of their phone, their car, their smartwatch to identify and destroy tracking devices and software.
There are enormous new and evolving challenges in our efforts to prevent domestic, family and sexual violence.
From increasingly violent pornography seen at ever younger ages, to nudify apps and deep fakes that are traumatising young women and girls across our schools and communities.
Or the manosphere trying to convince boys and young men to dominate others, to control women and feel ashamed of themselves if they don't embrace this world view.
That's why the Albanese Labor Government is taking world-leading action under the Attorny-General and Minister for Communications to address the impact of online harms - including the social media ban and restricting access to predatory technologies like nudify apps and undetectable stalking tools.
It's why we welcome the AFP Commissioner targeting online sadists who prey on young girls.
Because women and children deserve to be safe - everywhere.
And we are working across government to do just that.
Last year, the Prime Minister convened an urgent National Cabinet meeting on gender-based violence.
National Cabinet agreed to strengthen our collective efforts under the National Plan through the Rapid Review of Prevention Approaches.
Since that report was delivered in August last year, we have accelerated our efforts.
And today Minsiter Gallagher and I have released a public update on our progress.
We are supporting essential frontline services, with $700 million in new, matched funding with the states and territories - to support women and children at risk to reach safety.
We are focusing on sexual violence and being informed by the Australian Law Reform Commission Inquiry into Justice Responses to Sexual Violence - investing over $21 million to expand trauma-informed legal services and pilot new roles to help victims of sexual violence navigate the justice system.
We have invested $3.9 billion in the new National Access to Justice Partnership, including $800 million for family violence legal services. The largest amount invested in Australia's history.
This follows our changes to family law, to make the sure the system considers family violence risk and places the best interests of children at the centre of all parenting decisions.
We are taking action to deal with high-risk perpetrators - investing over $82 million to detect, monitor and intervene earlier with serial domestic violence offenders.
We are supporting the recovery of children who have experienced violence - investing over $81 million to expand services like child-specific counselling.
Because children deserve to grow up safe, happy and healthy. We will never break the cycle of violence until they can.
We are also investing $1 million to update the national framework for action to prevent alcohol-related family violence.
While alcohol and other drugs don't cause this violence, they contribute to it and they worsen it.
The devastating reality is Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women are 33 times more likely than other Australian women to be hospitalised due to family violence and up to seven times more likely to be homicide victims.
Right now, we are finalising Our Ways, Strong Ways, Our Voices - the first stand-alone Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Plan to end family, domestic and sexual violence - which has been developed in close partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
We continue working closely with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples across the country so that government policies and investment will have the greatest impact.
We are under no illusion that there is always more to learn. There is always more to do.
That's why I am today announcing the launch of an inquiry into domestic, family and sexual violence related suicide. The inquiry will be undertaken by the House Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs, chaired by the Member for Boothby.
Because experts have told us that suicide risk for victims can be amplified through feelings of entrapment, fear of the perpetrator, and the cumulative effects of violence - both during and after a relationship.
It's vital we continue to understand the pervasive and far-reaching impacts of gender-based violence if we are to effectively prevent it.
It is an unimaginable tragedy that for some women, life with the fear of abuse becomes intolerable.
Mr Speaker, over the past few months, I've met with communities and services from Alice Springs to the Apple Isle, hearing stories of what needs to change and stories of hope.
I want to acknowledge the domestic, family and sexual violence and community sector and the broader women's movement who have driven not only our understanding of gender-based violence, but also our commitment to taking action.
I sincerely thank and acknowledge the thousands of frontline workers striving every day to keep women and children safe and to prevent this violence, and the women who have marched and campaigned for decades.
And there are so many extraordinary people that have endured the horrors of violence, who then dedicate their lives to trying to prevent it for others.
To take the worst thing that has happened to them and to bring something good out of the darkness.
Their strength, their resilience, their generosity in driving change - change that benefits us all - is remarkable.
Like Rosie Batty - who cracked open a national conversation about how domestic violence can happen to anyone.
Or Grace Tame - raising her voice against child sexual abuse.
Sue and Lloyd Clarke - striving to raise awareness of coercive control.
Or Conor Pall - teaching us about the impact of family violence on children.
I have been personally inspired by their courage and that of so very many survivor-advocates. I can't name you all, but I carry your experiences and your advice with me every day.
Our government is grateful for your voices and your work.
It can be hard to see progress.
But when we step back and look up - it is there.
Last year I attended the 50th anniversary of the opening of Elsie Women's Refuge.
In the 1970s, the police rarely responded when violent men showed up.
Not only did government not provide any funding - they wouldn't even meet with the founders.
And now have every level of government committed to taking action to keep women and children safe.
There is recognition that it takes a whole-of-community effort to drive change - that employers, banks, universities all have to take action to disrupt and prevent violence.
There is a much greater understanding of the insidious ways the men who use violence terrorise and abuse women.
Like making repeated one cent online banking transactions to send thousands of abusive messages to ex-partners.
The banks have refused to let perpetrators get away with this - blocking hundreds and thousands of messages each year.
Or, racking up a debt in her name.
Yesterday, our government passed through this chamber legislation with biparitsan support so perpetrators can't use the social security system to leave survivors with tens of thousands of dollars of debt.
When students made clear that universities remained places where 1 in 6 students had experienced sexual harassment and 1 in 20 had experienced sexual assault - we established the National Higher Education Code to Prevent and Respond to Gender-based Violence - mandating that universities prevent this violence.
Driving progress takes action from us all.
Importantly - it will take action from men.
The recent 10 to Men Study found that one in three men reported using violence.
It's going to take leadership from men to change those numbers.
The same 10 to Men Study showed that men who grew up with positive father-figure role models who expressed affection were 48 per cent less likely to become perpetrators of family violence in adulthood.
Men, especially fathers, are powerful role models for the children and young people in their lives.
My plea to you is this: show through your behaviour every day what it is to be strong, to be loving, to be gentle. Make your home a place that is safe, and help build a society that is safe for women and children.
Be a role model. Raise boys and girls who are strong and confident and free from violence.
Mr Speaker, in her report, the Commissioner expresses a clear sense of urgency.
I share that urgency. This Goverment shares that urgency.
Our government has not stood still for one moment in our efforts to address gender-based violence.
And while there has been enormous action and progress - it is not enough.
As we develop the Second Action Plan over coming months, we will keep adapting to emerging new challenges.
We will work harder to help women and children reach safety and heal.
We will better support children to recover and thrive.
We will prioritise the most effective ways to change the behaviour of men who use violence.
We will target our efforts on the serial perpetrators who have to be stopped.
As we continue steadfast in our commitment - we will listen to the voices of survivors, seek guidance from experts and be informed by evidence.
Because everyone deserves to live, to love, to grow old without fear of violence.
