CONSTITUENCY STATEMENTS
Ms STEGGALL (Warringah) (16:06): Domestic and family violence remains one of the biggest concerns for voters in Warringah. Last week, I hosted a local roundtable bringing together frontline crisis services, local advocates and men's programs. The discussion reinforced the state of crisis in demand for services, and it is just staggering.
Northern Beaches Women's Shelter went from assisting 12 women a day in 2020 to now facing demand of over 70 women daily. Last year, they had to turn away over 580 women due to capacity shortages. Mary's House turned away 118 women, not because they didn't need help but because there was nowhere to go or to help them.
Services like LocalKind, Vinnies and Mary's House provide in-kind support for women, including those on temporary visas. They have no working rights, and when they're escaping violence they are left with no assistance. This places enormous strain on these not-for-profit organisations, which already have such stretched resources.
We also heard from Mentoring Men, a national volunteer led peer-counselling service. Forty per cent of their conversations with men are about relationships and the challenges they face. These often happen during key life transitions, including the birth of a child.
We know anecdotally that the birth of children is often a time when women are particularly vulnerable to violence from their partner and when rates increase. That's why a service like Mentoring Men and these conversations are so essential and desperately need support. Funding remains a major barrier.
These services rely heavily on philanthropy and fundraising activities, because, ultimately, there is a government funding shortfall. Mentoring Men faces an immediate $150,000 shortfall and needs $3 million annually for stability. Northern Beaches Women's Shelter receives just $60,000 in government funding against a service cost of nearly $1 million.
We cannot fail these essential services. These are just examples within my community. I appreciate there are many more.
They need more than just thoughts and prayers from governments when horrific incidents happen. During the roundtable, five areas emerged that would dramatically move the dial and assist. First and foremost was support for women escaping domestic and family violence who are on partner linked visas.
They need to get access to faster, more efficient resolution of their visa status to ensure that they can access supports like housing and JobSeeker. That will free up the funds of not-for-profit organisations currently covering the rest. We need to prioritise prevention and address root causes, making sure there is funding to assist these organisations.
Of course, the list is long, and I urge the government to do more.