Newly-appointed Australian of the Year Rosie Batty and former Victorian police chief Ken Lay have been named as the founding members of an advisory panel on preventing violence against women.
Tony Abbott and the minister assisting the prime minister for women, Michaelia Cash, announced the formation of the panel at a press conference in Melbourne on Wednesday morning.
“I’m delighted that Rosie has agreed to provided a voice to us in relation to her unique experiences,” Cash said.
Batty was named Australian of the Year on Sunday for her tireless campaigning for survivors of family violence following the murder of her son Luke in February last year. Abbott met Batty earlier on Wednesday to congratulate her on the honour.
He will urge the commonwealth and states to reach a consensus on how to enforce different state-based police protection orders across the country.
“Coag [Council of Australian governments] will be asked to act urgently this year to finally agree on a national domestic violence order scheme so that a domestic violence order in one jurisdiction holds in another jurisdiction,” Abbott said.
“We all know that so many families do flee from city to city, from state to state to avoid violence, and if they’re fleeing violence, the violence should not be allowed to follow them.”
The government reiterated its financial commitment to tackling violence with the reannouncement of previously committed funds.
It has set aside $100m over four years for the national action plan on tackling violence against women, plus an extra $13m for awareness program OurWatch and $3m for CrimTrac.
Domestic and sexual violence peak bodies welcomed the decision to put money into creating a national framework, but said funds cut from service providers must be reinstated.
“For it to be one or the other would be really unfortunate,” Moo Baulch from Domestic Violence NSW said. “Eradicating violence is going to take a lot more money.”
The government defunded a number of peak bodies just before Christmas, limiting their ability to argue on behalf of the groups they represent. Though no cuts were made directly to domestic or sexual violence organisations, service providers say cutting legal aid and homelessness and disability services will affect women trying to leave abusive relationships.
The convenor of the national family violence prevention legal services, Antoinette Braybrook, said the government was giving with one hand and taking away with the other.
“At the same time as making these supposed commitments, the commonwealth government has defunded critical services, including the NFVPLS program, which delivers vital legal services that ensure the safety of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and children,” she said.
Victoria legal aid welcomed the fast-tracking of the Coag reforms.
“It is imperative that all of the actions are implemented, including adequate funding of legal services which play a critical role in helping to secure safe environments and prevent ongoing breaches of family violence intervention orders that put victims at risk,” its director of family, youth and children’s law, Nicole Rich, said.
The Greens have called for the cuts announced in the May budget to be reversed.
“Domestic violence is the biggest cause of homelessness in women,” Greens senator Larissa Waters said. “Yet the Abbott government has abolished the national rental affordability scheme and is shrouding funding for the national partnership agreement on homelessness in uncertainty.
“The cuts to housing come on top of cuts to community legal centres and single parent support.”
Domestic Violence Victoria (DVV) said Abbott needed to consult more.
“We would say on top of his list should be looking at funding cuts that are crippling the sector, particularly homeless and women’s shelters.”
The government’s announcement on the advisory committee took many in the anti-domestic sector by surprise, but they said they were happy that the issue was getting the recognition it deserved.
“It is great to hear that family violence is on the Coag agenda and we welcome that,” the DVV’s Alison MacDonald said.
Karen Willis from Rape and Domestic Violence Services said having leaders talk about violence against women and highlighting its impacts was vital to create cultural change.
