PM’s clarion call: We must all do better on gender-based violence

Anthony Albanese told crowds on the third day of national protests to end gender-based violence that ‘the legal system needs to change’.

Protesters demonstrate solidarity during the 'No More: National Rally Against Gender Based Violence in Melbourne. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Luis Enrique Ascui

Anthony Albanese told crowds on the third day of national protests to end gender-based violence that “the legal system needs to change” after three more women died last week.

Facing heckling from some in the crowd, the Prime Minister announced at Canberra’s ‘No More: National Rally Against Gender Based Violence’ rally on Sunday that he would convene a national cabinet meeting on Wednesday, which would focus on domestic and family violence.

Mr Albanese, along with Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth, Finance Minister Katy Gallagher and his fiance, Jodie Haydon, joined several thousand protesters who marched from Lake Burley Griffin to the front lawns of Parliament House.

Mr Albanese said Australia needed to change its “culture”, “attitudes” and “legal system” to end the violence.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks at the rally at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Martin Ollman

“We’re here today to demand that governments of all levels must do better, including my own, including every state and territory government,” he said. “We’re here as well to say society, and Australia, must do better.

“We need to change the culture; we need to change attitudes. We need to change the legal system. We need to change the approach by all governments because it is not enough to support victims, we need to focus on the perpetrators and focus on ­prevention.”

Queensland Premier Steven Miles attended the Brisbane event and said “men need to be advocates too”.

“We need to support the women of our state, we need to send a signal that we don’t accept violence, and we need to tell other men that that kind of behaviour as well as coercive control, it’s just not acceptable.”

In Melbourne, a young girl held a placard that read “I miss you mummy” and teenagers with bloody hand prints on their mouths gripped a sign with the words “I said stop”, after Emma Bates, 49, from Cobram near the Victoria-NSW border, was found dead on the floor of her home on Tuesday afternoon.

Aggie Di Mauro told the 15,000 people gathered in front of the State Library of Victoria on Sunday she was palpably angry that the man who stalked and murdered her daughter Celeste in 2020 was not given a life sentence for his crimes, despite extensive pre-meditation. “I won’t get Celeste back, but I promised I’d get justice,” she told the crowd, wearing a “Justice for Celeste” T-shirt.

“This latest spate of murders, these young women, most of them with AVOs – we’ve got our Premier saying they’ll review bail laws. Why the hell did you let him out?

“They promised me Celeste’s case was never going to happen again ... How many since ­Celeste?”

She held up images of the women killed this year, including Chaithanya “Swetha” Madhagani who was allegedly murderer by her husband in Geelong earlier this year.

Protesters marching in solidarity during the rally in Melbourne. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Luis Enrique Ascui

In Sydney on Saturday, 32 flowers met those entering Hyde Park to signify the 32 women’s lives lost this year, including the five killed by Joel Cauchi inside Westfield Bondi Junction this month. “32, too many!” one sign read. “Enough!”

Sydney was still reeling from the death of Molly Ticehurst - a 28-year-old mother from Forbes, in regional NSW, who allegedly died at the hands of her former partner, who was the subject of an AVO, last Monday.

Premier Chris Minns was joined by Jenny Aitchison, Rose Jackson, Sophie Costis and Donna Davies on the march.

The weekend marches followed regional events, including in Ballarat where people collectively mourned the recent deaths of Rebecca Young, Samantha Murphy and Hannah McGuire.