MINISTERIAL STATEMENTS
Dr TRISH COOK (Bullwinkel) (12:18): Today we have tabled the Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commissioner's yearly report to parliament regarding domestic, family and sexual violence. Before coming to this place, I spent decades working as a nurse and midwife. As a remote area nurse particularly, I've seen the consequences of violence.
I have seen women come through our health system not knowing how to escape their situation and often not having the structures in place for them to do that. I've seen the fear, the uncertainty and the enormous courage it can take for a woman to make the decision to leave a violent relationship, particularly when children, pets, finances and housing are involved.
The question, of course, should never be: why didn't she leave? It should be: where will she go? It's our job to put those structures in place.
Ending gender based violence requires more than just words. It requires leadership, action and investment. Just recently, National Cabinet affirmed its commitment to ending gender based violence and agreed to accelerate efforts to keep women and girls safe.
Since National Cabinet met on this issue in 2024, the government has progressed more than $700 million in matched state funding for frontline family, domestic and sexual violence services. Less than a month ago, the Albanese Labor government announced a further $308 million for emergency and transitional housing and backed Australia's first standalone plan for addressing family, domestic and sexual violence against First Nations women and children with another $218 million.
Importantly, National Cabinet have now agreed to establish a new national family and domestic violence risk assessment framework. This means working towards a system where, whether the woman reaches out to her GP, presents at a hospital, speaks to police or comes into contact with another service, the warning signs of violence can be recognised and acted upon by all frontline workers in a standardised way.
A few weeks ago, I joined Assistant Minister Patrick Gorman at the Salvation Army's The Beacon in Perth to announce another important investment. The Beacon is a place that provides transitional and emergency housing for people. The Albanese Labor government is investing $22 million in WA for an additional 20 homes across three project crisis and transitional dwellings, supporting women and families escaping domestic and family violence as well as young people experiencing homelessness.
We know that one of the most dangerous moments for someone experiencing violence can be when they decide to leave, and nobody should ever have to choose between staying in a violent home and having no home at all. A few weeks ago, my office received an email from a new resident who had just moved into a newly built social and affordable home in my electorate, and I'd like to read from that email right now.
It reads: 'I would like to express my deepest gratitude for our new home. I am a single mother to 2 young children, a victim-survivor of family and domestic violence and this new home has provided us with safe refuge. It could not have come at a better time as my ex was just charged with stalking and we've had to move 4 times in the last 2 years.
Thanks to you and the Australian government, we are able to build a life of dignity and freedom.' This letter shows why what we do in this place is so important. Every Australian deserves a safe place to call home, and we're committed to delivering this. You may recollect there was a recent by-election in Secret Harbour in Western Australia, and I was particularly disturbed by the comments of the One Nation candidate and now parliamentarian Luke Herdegen.
He said, regarding domestic violence, 'it's just not really an issue down here.' I'm so glad that my colleagues in this House across the aisle acknowledge that this is a problem and that silence does not mean that violence does not exist. The candidate, now parliamentarian, of course, for One Nation is also reiterated by his leader's response, who described domestic violence as a two way street.
I find those statements absolutely deplorable and unbelievable, quite frankly. Domestic and family violence does not disappear just because somebody has not raised it with their local political candidate, and, in fact, the very nature of family and domestic violence means that much of it happens behind closed doors. People experiencing violence may be frightened to speak.
They may fear retaliation against themselves, their children or their pets, and they may be worried about where they're going to sleep that night because it's connected to their housing, literally the roof over their head. It is one of the reasons we need to work harder here to make sure that people know that they will be believed and supported when they do come forward.
As political leaders, we have a responsibility to take this issue seriously. We have experts telling us about the extent of the problem. We have a responsibility to listen, even when the stories are difficult.
We have a responsibility to make sure that someone experiencing violence knows where they can turn to. As a nurse, a midwife, a woman and the federal member for Bullwinkel, this issue is deeply important to me. Our electorate, my electorate, carries the name of Lieutenant Colonel Vivian Bullwinkel, a nurse remembered for her extraordinary courage, service and resilience.
Vivian Bullwinkel's story also reminds us of the devastating history of wartime violence against women. In 1942, after the sinking of the Vyner Brooke ship, Vivian Bullwinkel and 21 of her fellow Australian Army nurses—unarmed Australian nurses—were massacred by Japanese soldiers on Radji Beach on Bangka Island. These 22 nurses were assaulted and then ordered into the sea and shot, and Vivian was the only survivor.
If she hadn't have survived, we wouldn't have known about the incident. She later testified at the war crimes tribunal in Tokyo. Silence is not evidence that violence does not exist.
Their murder was not only a wartime atrocity but an example of women being targeted with violence because of their vulnerability as unarmed personnel. Her willingness to testify at the war crimes tribunal showed her immense courage, and her courage continues to inspire us today. There is much work ahead of us, and we need governments at every level working together.
We need every parliamentarian showing leadership on this issue, and it was heartening to hear the opposition's speech earlier. Acknowledging the problem is the first step. Domestic and family violence is an issue.
It's an issue in Australia, in our suburbs and in our regional and remote communities. While I have the privilege of serving in this parliament, I will never dismiss the experiences of victims-survivors simply because their voices have not been loud enough for somebody else to hear. The Albanese Labor government will continue listening, continue investing and continue to work towards the goal that every Australian woman deserves to be safe in their own home.