Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2025-2026

Ms KARA COOK (Bonner) (10:54): Ending gender based violence is a national priority for the Albanese Labor government and must be a priority for every single person in this place, because every one of us has a role to play in ensuring women and children are safe, supported and empowered. Before entering this parliament, I worked as a domestic violence lawyer. I sat beside women as they applied for protection orders.

I listened to their stories of abuse, fear and control but also of courage. I saw firsthand how broken systems can compound trauma, and I also saw how the right support at the right time can change a life. I carry those stories with me into this chamber.

They guide the work I do here and remind me that policy is not abstract; it's personal and, in this place, it's urgent. We know that escaping violence comes at enormous personal and financial cost, and we know too many women have asked themselves not, 'Why don't I leave?' but instead, 'Where would I go?' or, 'How will I afford to leave?' That's why the Albanese Labor government is delivering the most significant investment in women's safety in our nation's history.

Since coming to government, Labor has committed more than $4 billion to address gender based violence. That includes funding for frontline services, prevention programs, legal supports and behaviour change initiatives, because we must support victims-survivors but we must also stop the violence before it starts. We've made the Leaving Violence Program permanent, offering up to $5,000 in financial support, plus safety planning, to people who are leaving or who have recently left a violent relationship.

This replaced the escaping violence payment trial, which supported more than 100,000 people. It sends a clear message: if you need to go, we will help you so you can afford to leave. We've also legislated 10 days of paid domestic violence leave so no-one has to choose between safety and their job.

We're investing $1.2 billion in emergency and transitional accommodation because leaving violence shouldn't mean entering homelessness. We've reformed family law to make it safer and easier to navigate. We've also invested in legal assistance services.

There's $3.9 billion for the new National Access to Justice Partnership, $82.4 million to strengthen responses to high-risk and serial perpetrators of domestic and family violence and $81.3 million to enhance and expand child-centric, trauma-informed supports for children and young people who have experiences of violence. I want to give a special shout-out to Safe Steps, who premiered their film, Unanswered Calls, at parliament this week.

The film portrays young people's experience of family violence, and I thank the assistant minister for her attendance at the premiere. Labour is fixing systems that have too often failed women. One example of this is the special circumstances debt waiver.

Under the old rules, women who unknowingly incurred Centrelink debts, often because of coercive control or financial abuse, were still held liable. Labor is changing that. We're expanding the waiver provision so that Services Australia can consider the broader context, including abuse, when deciding whether a debt should be waived.

We've also invested in prevention and education. Our $40 million Consent Can't Wait campaign is reaching young people with powerful, necessary messages. We've partnered with Teach Us Consent and La Trobe University to build the evidence base and ensure we are tackling this issue at its root.

We are taking further steps to disrupt cycles of harm, investing in electronic monitoring of high-risk perpetrators, funding behaviour change programs and working with states and territories to improve criminal justice responses to sexual violence. All of this is informed by the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children and is strengthened by the rapid review that continues to shape our national response.

I've sat in court with too many women—up to 90 matters a day—who've felt they had nowhere to turn. That is not the Australia we want, and it's not the Australia that Labor will accept. Only Labor is building a system where women are believed, supported and safe—a system that holds perpetrators accountable and that empowers every victim-survivor to reclaim their life with dignity, with choice and with hope.

We still have work to do, but we are making progress that is real, tangible and life changing. I'm proud to be part of a government that understands the urgency, that listens to victims-survivors and that invests in safety, justice and prevention—not just words but real action. I commend the work of the department, of Minister Plibersek and of Assistant Minister Kearney, and commend this government's commitment to a safer future for all Australians, free from violence.