Zali Steggall calls for swift sentencing overhaul for gendered violence
In a speech to parliament, the member for Warringah Zali Steggall called for an overhaul to national sentencing laws for violence against women. She highlighted the swift change to sentencing laws for one-punch-attacks in NSW.
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00:00 When two young men died, NSW Government introduced mandatory sentences for one-punch attacks.
00:06 When it was terrorism, laws were changed to jail people on the apprehended risk of crimes.
00:12 But when Australian men kill Australian women, the Government's national plan is to take
00:16 10 years.
00:17 In the gallery today, our advocate is here to hold a vigil for the 192 women killed by
00:23 men since the 2021 March for Justice.
00:27 We have a crisis of male violence and women's safety.
00:30 Will you be tough on this domestic terrorism by leading an overhaul of national sentencing
00:35 laws including AVOs?
00:40 Violence against women is indeed a national crisis.
00:43 We know that when on average once every four days a woman is murdered by someone they know
00:50 by an intimate partner or former partner, that is a national crisis.
00:55 It's a scourge and it's a stain on our nation and we need to do better.
01:02 Governments need to do better but we as a community need to do better as well because
01:06 this is about more than just government action.
01:09 This is about our whole society and how it functions and about respect for women.
01:15 We can change it and we must change it.
01:18 Our record investment in the national plan, I do disagree with her depiction of the national
01:23 plan.
01:24 The national plan from 2022 is a recognition that tragically you can't solve this overnight.
01:32 You need to change behaviour across a whole range of ways.
01:36 We need to change the way the education system works.
01:38 The Royal Commission in Victoria in 2016, one of the things that they found was that
01:44 they needed to get that education about respectful relationships in school and that has happened.
01:50 One of the things about the national cabinet meeting I convened was that people talked
01:54 about replicating best practice and that included the issue of sentencing.
02:00 I note that New South Wales has made a significant announcement and I support it.
02:04 The stronger action for people who have AVOs, stronger action to make sure that people aren't
02:10 just released into the community who are a threat to a woman.
02:17 Very strong action indeed and I know that other states, premiers and chief ministers
02:23 as well agreed at that meeting to look at all of their laws including bail laws and
02:28 to return to the national cabinet.
02:32 They are state laws, they're not national laws but we can encourage best practice when
02:38 it comes to that.
02:41 We through that national cabinet meeting established permanently the Leaving Violence
02:47 Payment and tonight's budget will see $925 million for that.
02:54 Tonight's budget will also see a billion dollars directed towards crisis and transitional
02:59 accommodation for women and children escaping domestic violence.
03:04 In addition to that the Minister for Communications is doing important work to tackle extreme
03:09 online misogyny which is a real issue and something that will be a real focus as well.
03:16 I pay tribute to the survivors and people who are working so strongly on this.
03:24 A focus on prevention of course must mean a focus on perpetrators as well.
03:29 We know the work will be hard, there are no overnight solutions but we're absolutely
03:34 committed to working including with the Member for Warringah and across this parliament on
03:38 all of these issues to make sure that the scourge which is there be dealt with in the
03:46 best possible way.
03:48 Thank you.
03:49 [END]