Michael Sukkar MP

Constituency Statements: White Ribbon Day

I want to add my voice to the many who acknowledged an important occasion for our society and our country, yesterday, which was White Ribbon Day. The day was observed by me, many other members of this place and the community more broadly. White Ribbon Day, as we know, is a male-led campaign to end violence against women. Violence against women is a significant issue in my electorate and across the country and is, therefore, something that many of us campaign for throughout the year. Nonetheless, it is important to have days like White Ribbon Day to bring it to national prominence. Occasions like this give us an opportunity to reflect and take stock of not only what has been achieved and how far we have come but also how much more needs to be done to end the scourge that is domestic violence.

At yesterday’s White Ribbon Day breakfast, here in parliament, Prime Minister Turnbull’s address struck a chord with me and many of those who were gathered. In particular, he said:

Violence against women is the end point of disrespecting women.

Now, not all disrespect of women ends up in violence but all violence against women begins there.

As the Prime Minister also said, at a personal level: ‘One of the most important things we all must do is to ensure our sons, our brothers and our grandsons respect their sisters, mothers and their grandmothers.’

Unfortunately, as I have said, in reflecting on the challenges ahead, we know that there is a long way to go. We know that one in six Australian women has experienced violence at the hand of a current or former partner, and more than 60 women have been killed, so far, this year.

I am therefore proud that the government is continuing to put its money where its mouth is and deliver in this area. Earlier this year, the Prime Minister and ministers announced a package worth over $100 million, designed to provide a safety net for women and children at risk of violence. This was announced at the Eastern Community Legal Centre, near my electorate of Deakin, and has been something that my community has welcomed.

I want to take this opportunity to, again, raise my concerns that we and the states are not adequately dealing with perpetrators of domestic violence against women and the flow-on impacts to children. I highlight my ongoing campaign and calls for the Victorian and state attorneys-general, collectively, to look at minimum mandatory sentencing for violent crimes against women and children, because we do not have faith that our unelected judiciary is dealing with these perpetrators of violence in the way that they should.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Mrs Prentice ): Thank you, member for Deakin, for those appropriate comments.

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