Labor doubles funding targeting family violence

Bill Shorten will more than double funding to tackling family violence, committing an extra $332m.

Bill Shorten in Darwin yesterday. Picture: AAP

Bill Shorten will more than double national funding towards tackling family violence, committing an extra $332 million over four years to frontline services, emergency accommodation, early intervention, and legal support.

The pledge would lift federal funding for the fourth ­national ­action plan to reduce violence against women and their children to a record $660m, following a $328m commitment by the ­Coalition in the federal budget.

Ahead of the release of the policy in Melbourne yesterday, Mr Shorten said Labor would make preventing and responding to family violence a national priority.

“One woman a week is murdered by a current or former partner. Family violence hurts children and ripples through generations. This must change,” the Opposition Leader said.

“Labor commits to national leadership to address the shameful prevalence of violence against women and their children.”

Mr Shorten’s policy includes $88m to establish a new safe housing fund to deliver transitional and emergency housing for women and children escaping violence, older women at risk of homelessness and young people exiting out-of-home care.

An extra $60m will be spent building more refuges and emergency accommodation facilities, and $18m will go towards keeping women safe in their own homes by enforcing apprehended violence orders supporting the installation of locks, alarms and security cameras.

A new $90m fund will be created to provide legal services, including $42.5m for community legal services to help 115,000 women, and $21.5m for family violence prevention legal centres.

Another $21m will be spent on doubling the number of specialist domestic violence advice for women in hospitals and health services. Nearly $100m would be spent on violence prevention, including $62m on local community prevention and frontline service grants, and $35m on “evidence-based, aged-appropriate respectful relationships education” in schools.

A further $60m would be spent on support packages of up to $10,000 each to help those fleeing family violence.

Labor is also committed to legislating 10 days a year paid domestic violence leave, because those experiencing family violence “should not have to choose between leaving a violent relationship and keeping their job”.

Labor has also already announced it would change the law so that “economic abuse” is recognised by the courts as a form of family violence.

The fourth national action plan to address family violence runs from July until mid-2022, with the states and territories expected to add to the funding pool. The previous national action plan was worth just over $100m.

The Coalition’s $328m domestic violence package — itself a record commitment — included a “Prevention Hub” for community education and support programs to act on warnings that one in four women have been subject to physical or sexual violence. “A culture of disrespect towards women is a precursor to violence and anyone who doesn’t see that is kidding themselves,” Scott Morrison said when the policy was announced.

Mr Shorten has already won the support of anti-violence campaigner and former Australian of the Year Rosie Batty, who sat next to his wife, Chloe, during the Labor leader’s budget reply and criticised what she said was a “paltry” commitment by the Coalition to ­addressing the issue.