Albanese to propose ‘substantial funding uplift’ for family violence services at national cabinet
Anthony Albanese will propose a “substantial package” at national cabinet to fund frontline services for those fleeing family and domestic violence, including accommodation and legal help.
The package responds to recommendations of the rapid review of prevention approaches, which called for a “significant funding uplift” in certain frontline areas.
The national legal assistance partnership, due to expire in June next year, will be renewed after the Mundy review called for increased investment to reverse the “neglect of Australia’s legal assistance sector”.
But the plan could spark a new funding fight, with some states and territories objecting to co-fund a rollover of what was a predominantly commonwealth responsibility. There is some suggestion the commonwealth wants to present a $500m package, co-funded by the states, but that was still under consideration on Thursday.
Ahead of the meeting the minister for finance and women, Katy Gallagher, said the federal government did not want “a states versus the commonwealth kind of argy-bargy” about funding, promising it would show leadership and be “prepared to put some dollars on the table and we want to shift the dial here”.
Albanese said that national cabinet’s aim of “ending family, domestic and sexual violence in a generation” will require an “all-hands-on-deck approach”.
National cabinet will discuss measures to help young Australians who have experienced or been exposed to violence, and to monitor high-risk perpetrators, including New South Wales reforms to ensure people granted bail who are facing high-risk domestic violence charges are electronically monitored.
Accelerating approvals for critical renewable energy infrastructure, the community infrastructure agreement and an update on renters’ rights are also on the national cabinet agenda.
On Thursday Gallagher said although all governments needed to respond, Albanese has been “leading this and shaping this” because the commonwealth recognises that “violence against women … has such a terrible impact on our society”.
“And he’ll take a substantial package to national cabinet tomorrow for further investment in this area,” she told Radio National.
Albanese described the domestic violence situation as “a national crisis”.
“We want all violence against women and children to stop, and we won’t be satisfied until it stops,” he said.
Women’s Legal Services Australia told the Mundy review that “1,018 attempts to receive assistance were turned away during a 5-day period” meaning an estimated 52,000 people, “many of whom are experiencing domestic, family, and sexual violence”, were turned away each year.
The rapid review noted “the dire need for crisis accommodation for victim-survivors, particularly in remote and regional communities, such as the Torres Strait, where [it] heard that there was only one shelter to service the entire region”.
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The review also recommended the establishment of nationally consistent travel assistance for people escaping family and domestic violence who live in remote areas.
In addition to funding frontline services, the review called for a better approach to “engaging with men and boys, and on healthy masculinities and violence prevention” and improving men’s behaviour change programs.
The review pushed the federal government to abolish the activity test to improve access to childcare and adopt a total ban on gambling advertising. The Albanese government is planning only a partial ban on TV ads.
In May Albanese announced $925m to help victims of violence leave abusive relationships and a ban on deepfake pornography after a special national cabinet meeting focusing on family and domestic violence.
Friday’s meeting will be the last before the Labor government in Queensland – which is trailing in the polls – and the Labor-Greens government in the Australian Capital Territory enter caretaker mode ahead of October elections.
It will also be the first meeting since the election in the Northern Territory of the new Country Liberal first minister, Lia Finocchiaro, who has promised to make it tougher for violent and repeat offenders to get bail and to lower the age of criminal responsibility back to 10.
