Cheers, tears and heckles as PM admits domestic violence a national crisis

Australia is facing a “national crisis” of domestic violence, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says, one that will be the topic of a snap national cabinet meeting on Wednesday morning.

The meeting will bring together Albanese and first ministers to discuss how to tackle rising violence against women and children.

Albanese was heckled and cheered as he joined thousands of people at a rally in Canberra on Sunday – one of several held around the country – highlighting the urgent need to end the scourge.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese attends a rally to a call for action to end violence against women, in Canberra on Sunday.Credit: AAP

It was an emotionally charged event that left the organiser, Sarah Williams, visibly upset as the prime minister responded to her demand that he declare a national emergency.

On Sunday, a 35-year-old man was charged with the murder of 30-year-old Erica Hay in Perth, taking the number of women to die in violent circumstances around Australia this year to 27.

Over the weekend, tens of thousands of people marched in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and regional areas. Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan and NSW Premier Chris Minns joined rallies.

Accompanied by Minister for Women Katy Gallagher and Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth at the Canberra event, Albanese was heckled by a few people as he spoke of the government’s $2.3 billion, 10-year plan to end domestic violence, unveiled in October 2022.

For many, it was a very emotional day in Canberra.Credit: AAP

The prime minister said he was attending the rally because “I know that we must do better” and that “it’s not just government’s problem, it’s a problem of our entire society”.

“This is a national crisis … Emergency is something that we use when there’s a flood or bushfires, where things kick in for one month or two months of funding. We don’t need one month or two months, we need to address this in a serious way, week by week, month by month, year by year. Across the generations,” he said, to strong applause from the crowd.

Albanese, who was urged to speak by a large part of the crowd, began his speech by saying the organisers had said they did not want him to do so.

“We did ask to speak, myself and Katy [Gallagher], and were told that wasn’t possible and that’s fine, I respect the organisers’ right to do that,” he said.

That comment appeared to upset organiser and survivor-advocate Sarah Williams, who, during a 40-minute speech, had called for the prime minister to agree to a set of demands and spoke about her own experience.

Video footage of the interaction showed her saying Albanese’s remarks were a “full-out lie” as she stood next to him and became visibly upset.

Williams later told this masthead she was shocked when the prime minister made the comments and “turned this on me”.

“I yelled out to the crowd that he’s lying, and started crying, because it’s the prime minister, the biggest and most powerful man in the country, and I’m only 23. I remembered all my trauma in that one moment, that power and control. I bawled my eyes out, up the front,” she said.

Women let Sydney know how they feel during a protest rally on Saturday.Credit: Dion Georgopoulos

The rally came as federal MPs across party lines played down the need for a national royal commission into violence against women.

A day after Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus ruled out a federal inquiry, Amanda Rishworth argued that the government needed to “get on with the job” of implementing its national plan.

“Importantly, victim-survivors and many, many experts had input into that national plan. And so I believe we need to get on with the job. We have a Family, Domestic and Sexual Violence Commissioner that our government stood up [to monitor progress],” she said.

But Nationals Senate leader Bridget McKenzie said the government’s domestic violence strategy wasn’t working, and it was “absolutely appalling we have seen a 25th [sic] woman killed by gendered violence this year”.

She stopped short of backing a national royal commission, arguing that it was up to the government to decide. She said the government had promised more frontline services to tackle violence against women, but they were not present on the ground, particularly in the regions.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said domestic violence was “not just government’s problem, it’s a problem of our entire society”. Credit: AAP

Rishworth cautioned it would take time before society saw the benefits of some federal action, such as with an early intervention program for teenage boys who have had adverse childhood experiences, including family violence.

“The results of that will take some time, but that investment is being made now,” she said.

“I have been dealing with this issue every day that I have been minister for social services … There would be many advocates that have been trying to get this message through. But it is important that we now all work together. Governments at all levels but also civil society, organisations, businesses.

“What we need is for this effort to be sustained long-term. That is the challenge here: for this not to become an issue in the news cycle that we then forget about.”

NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb also said there were solutions that governments and the police could implement now.

“I think we could work through some solutions quicker. Let’s do that. Let’s work together. I think the federal government are working on domestic violence as an issue. We’ve been working on it for years,” Webb said.

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