Where is the urgency? Action to protect women is too slow

There is a jarring disconnect between the political talk and the policy action when Australians are told of the national crisis of violence against women.

The talk is all about urgent solutions such as $925 million for women who are escaping male violence, or a new register for high-risk offenders, or tougher rules to curb online misogyny and violent porn.

But the action is too slow. The outcome from the national cabinet meeting on Wednesday morning is another step towards a solution. It is not a step-change with a truly powerful response.

Anthony Albanese called the meeting because he wanted action from federal and state governments on emergency support services, bail laws, the justice system and online safety.

The prime minister emerged from the meeting with a solid announcement – the $925 million Leaving Violence Program – to shape the headlines. This helped to hide the fact that the meeting made no radical progress on broader fronts. National cabinet agreed to return in a few months to consider other options.

Angela Lynch, the executive officer at the Queensland Sexual Assault Network, cannot hide her disappointment at the national cabinet result. Like others, she warns that essential services need more funding. While the new payment is welcome, she worries that politicians always want to focus on a shiny, new announcement.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese with (from left) Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth, Communications Minister Michelle Rowland and Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commissioner Micaela Cronin.Credit: AAP

“We’ve got 12-year-olds on wait lists for rape counselling,” she says. “We cannot meet all these needs. These services haven’t had a significant increase in permanent, core operating funding for almost 27 years.”

Is that good enough in a crisis?

The fine print from national cabinet suggests Australians should greet the promises with caution on at least three fronts.

First, the $925 million does not start until the middle of next year. It offers $5000 in emergency assistance to women who are fleeing male violence, but the full scheme does not start for at least 14 months.

This program replaces and rebrands a trial policy set up under former prime minister Scott Morrison in October 2021 and known as the Escaping Violence Payment. As with the trial, the new scheme offers $1500 in cash and $3500 in goods and services.

The Labor policy was already underway before the flashpoints of the past few weeks. A decision had to be made on whether to continue the trial scheme, so the plan was prepared for the federal budget on May 14.

This does not mean the Leaving Violence Program is an empty announcement. It is new money, with real help, over five years. Minister for Women Katy Gallagher and Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth have produced a concrete result. Women who might have been turned away under the trial – which only approved about half the applications for funding – now have a better chance of getting help.

Even so, this raises a question. Is it good enough to simply bring forward a policy by two weeks? There is a case for greater action in the federal budget on May 14.

The second reason for caution is the talk about a national register to track high-risk offenders so that federal and state governments can share information that protects women. It is not clear whether this would be a public register or limited to police and other authorities.

“That is something that everybody was keen on progressing,” Albanese said on Tuesday. In fact, most of the states look complacent, even lazy, on this potential reform.

Queensland raised the prospect of a national register one year ago after an expert taskforce backed the idea in 2021. Victoria has not yet decided on a Victoria Police 2015 recommendation to set up a register. NSW does not have one.

Where is the urgency? There is a huge gulf between the press conference platitudes and the hard work on a solution.

A third problem is the idea of protecting children from harmful content online. Albanese and the Communications Minister, Michelle Rowland, are promising work on an “age assurance” mechanism so online platforms have to verify the age of their subscribers. This could help families keep boys away from the sort of violence and porn that can shape their attitudes about women.

The good news is that the government is pledging $6.5 million to a pilot scheme to design an age test for online platforms. The bad news is that it is doing in May 2024 what it was asked to do in March 2023.

The eSafety Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, handed a roadmap to Rowland on this idea 14 months ago. The minister did not proceed with age verification. The idea was “kicked down the road” – as this masthead revealed last August.

The government’s shift on age verification has been a slow and clumsy backflip. It has wasted time and is finally acting when it is impossible to ignore the way young people are exposed to real harm on social media.

Coalition communication spokesman David Coleman was far ahead of Rowland on this issue. He called for age verification last year. Labor realised it needed a response.

This national cabinet is just one step. There will be more. But the progress is painfully slow.

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