MINISTERIAL STATEMENTS

Ms COMER (Petrie) (11:44): I rise in support of the ministerial statement delivered by Minister Tanya Plibersek on the Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commission's yearly report to parliament. I want to begin by acknowledging the victims-survivors— The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Mr Wilkie ): The Federation Chamber is suspended until the chair is resumed, as soon as this quorum in the House of Representatives is dealt with.

Sitting suspended from 11:46 to 11:49 Ms COMER: I begin by acknowledging the victims-survivors of family, domestic and sexual violence. I acknowledge those who have spoken publicly about their experiences, those who have shared them quietly with family and friends and those who may be living with violence today. I also remember the women and children whose lives have been taken by violence too often at the hands of someone who claimed to love them.

Behind every statistic we discuss in this place is a person—a mother, a daughter, a sister, a friend, a colleague or a neighbour—whose life mattered and who deserved to be safe. Ending family, domestic and sexual violence is a national priority of the Albanese Labor government, and every single one of us has a role to play. One in four Australian women has experienced violence by an intimate partner since the age of 15, along with one in 14 men.

I honestly believe those figures are conservative, as many people don't report out of fear of judgement or fear that they won't be believed, but those numbers, as they stand, should stop us in our tracks. This is not something happening somewhere else to somebody else; it is happening in every part of our country and in communities like mine in Petrie. I recently attended the vigil to honour the life of Djuarn Baker-Adams—or DJ, to her family and friends.

DJ was a beloved member of our community and a mentor and role model to the young people that came after her at the Redcliffe Area Youth Space. Djuarn's life was stolen through a heinous act of violence. I thank the hundreds of community members who showed up in solidarity at the Redcliffe Jetty.

To her family and friends: your words that evening did not fall on deaf ears. The Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commission's yearly report gave us an assessment of how we are tracking as a nation and provided advice to make sure that the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children delivers on its commitments. This year, the commission made eight recommendations spanning our response to sexual violence, early intervention, safety and recovery, and stronger accountability.

At the heart of the report is Commissioner Cronin's vision of an Australia where family, domestic and sexual violence is rare, brief and non-recurring. Violence should be rare because we prevent it before it happens. It should be brief because, when someone is in danger, we recognise the warning signs and act quickly.

And it should be non-recurring because victims-survivors receive the support they need, while those who use violence are held accountable. The Albanese Labor government has invested more than $4.4 billion to take action to end family, domestic and sexual violence. That funding is supporting around 1,400 organisations and has directly helped almost half a million Australians experiencing violence.

But we are nowhere near finished. Too many women and children continue to be killed and too many people continue to live with violence and fear every day. One of the most important things our government has done is make the leaving violence payment permanent, providing up to $5,000 in financial assistance as well as safety-planning support for women leaving violence.

Leaving violence is not always as simple as packing a bag and walking out. Financial abuse can mean someone who has no control over the family bank account, no savings, nowhere else to stay or children they need to support. Nobody should have to choose between financial security and physical safety.

We are also investing $1.2 billion in emergency and transitional accommodation to help women reach safety. Funding for the 500 Workers program has been boosted by more than 70 per cent, and funding for 1800RESPECT has increased by 40 per cent to help keep pace with demand. Let me just say that again: to keep pace with demand.

This is an issue we need to wholeheartedly address, and that is what we are doing. These frontline workers are there at some of the most frightening points in someone's life, answering calls, finding safe accommodation and helping victims-survivors rebuild their lives. We have also invested a record $3.9 billion in legal services, including an additional $800 million for family violence legal services.

We have reformed the family law system and invested $183 million to make the child support system safer and to help children receive the support they are owed. Systems that are supposed to help Australians should never be capable of being weaponised by an abuser. That is why our government has legislated to ensure that the social security system cannot be weaponised by perpetrators of abuse.

We have legislated 10 days of paid domestic violence leave and made it illegal to fire someone because of their experience of domestic and family violence. Escaping violence can involve police, lawyers, courts, doctors, support services and housing providers. Paid leave gives people financial security when they need it most.

Another major focus of the commission's report is earlier intervention. The Albanese Labor government has conducted major consultation to shape the second action plan under the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022-2032. We cannot build a system that reacts only after violence has escalated.

We need to get better at recognising risk and intervening earlier. I think it's important to get into the prevention space, because we can only keep putting so many bulletproof vests on women, when we could be removing the rounds from the guns that are being fired. We need to ensure that the warning signs are recognised by GPs, nurses, police officers, teachers and social workers while strengthening the information sharing between those services.

It also means working with people who use violence before their behaviour becomes entrenched while ensuring dangerous and repeat perpetrators are held to account. Our government has invested $82 million in new approaches to identify high-risk perpetrators and share information across systems and state boundaries. More than 186 round tables have been held with more than 1,100 people, along with almost 1,300 survey responses and 535 submissions from organisations.

Australians sent a clear message: they want far fewer people to be experiencing violence and they want better responses when harm occurs. That is why priorities for the second action plan include helping victim-survivors to leave violence safely and to recover, intervening earlier, supporting children and young people, responding to sexual violence and online harms, and holding perpetrators to account.

Children and young people must be central to this work. Children are not simply witnesses to family violence; they experience it. The fear, the instability and the trauma can follow them for years.

I lived through domestic violence as a child, and I still live with it. Our government has invested $81 million to support children who have experienced violence, including through child-specific counselling. We also have a responsibility to teach young people what healthy, respectful relationships look like.

The online world has made that challenge far more difficult. Technology has created new ways to control, monitor, threaten and abuse others. Young people can also be exposed to violent pornography, misogynistic material and deeply unhealthy ideas about women, consent and relationships.

We're seeing an increase in the damage being caused by choking and strangulation during sex. Let me be clear: there is no safe level of strangulation—there is no safe level. It is a precursor to further violence being committed.

There is no safe level of strangulation during sex. Our government has taken world-leading action on online harms, including the social media ban, restrictions on predatory technologies such as nudify applications and undetectable stalking tools, and a digital duty of care to protect under-18s from harmful content. But laws and regulations are only part of the prevention.

The conversations around the kitchen tables, classrooms, sporting fields and parliaments and between friends matter too. We need to teach boys and young men that strength is not about controlling someone else. Real strength is supporting the people around you.

Young people need to understand that respect is foundational to every healthy relationship and that another person's boundaries must be respected.