Greens host expert-led Domestic and Family Violence Forum at NSW Parliament

Today in Parliament, Abigail passed a motion urging the NSW Government to collaborate with individuals with lived experience, advocates, and experts in the domestic and family violence sector on prevention, policy, and decision-making.

Abigail said:

I move:

(1) That this House notes that:

at a forum on 14 May 2024, the NSW Parliament heard from leading experts from the domestic and family violence sector Christine Robinson, Annabelle Daniel, Yumi Lee and Jess Hill in relation to next steps to address domestic and family violence in NSW;
the forum was well attended by Members of Parliament and their staff, Department of Parliamentary Services staff and media representatives;
Christine Robinson, Bundjalung woman and CEO of Wirringa Baiya, spoke about the experience of First Nations women and children in relation to accessing domestic and family violence services, the intergenerational trauma stemming from colonisation, lack of culturally safe services and programs for First Nations victim-survivors, fear of accessing services, the risk of unintended consequences from legislative change and the vital frontline work that Wirringa Baiya carries out;
Annabelle Daniel, Founding CEO of Women’s Community Shelters, Chair of Domestic Violence NSW and Independent Member of the New South Wales Coercive Control Implementation Taskforce, spoke about housing affordability and availability as a key component affecting women who are leaving domestic violence, that the demand for the services provided by Women’s Community Shelters has almost doubled in the last year, the importance of wrap around services for victim-survivors and the importance of response as a form of prevention;
Yumi Lee, CEO of Older Women's Network NSW, spoke about the exclusion of older women experiencing family violence from the coercive control offence due to come into effect in July 2024, housing accessibility as a form of domestic violence prevention, and the intersection of violence experienced by older women at the hand of their sons or grandsons who have previously perpetrated intimate partner violence; and
Jess Hill, author of “See What You Made Me Do” and coercive control expert and advocate, spoke about the intersection between gendered violence and systemic gender inequality, the importance of viewing domestic violence response including crisis shelters as a form of prevention, the prevalence of misidentification of the primary aggressor in domestic violence cases and the need for court reform as well as police reform and training.

(2) That this House affirms that there is no substitute for listening to victim-survivors, advocates and experts in relation to what is needed to address, respond to and prevent domestic and family violence.

(3) That this House calls on the NSW Government to commit to not only listen to but act on the views and experiences of those with lived experience, advocates and experts, across all aspects of domestic and family violence response and prevention policy and decision-making.

Read the transcript in Hansard here.

A UNIVERSAL WELLBEING PAYMENT FOR NSW

No matter who you are or what you do, everyone has the right to share in the wellbeing of our country.

But at the moment the essentials so many of us need – a place to call home, food on the table, and everyday essentials like electricity, internet, medicine and water – are simply out of reach.

Instead of supporting us, our government is choosing to prop up huge corporations with massive subsidies, and to give away our collective wealth through record tax cuts for the wealthy. Meanwhile, the rest of us are left to live paycheck to paycheck or trapped in the dehumanising bureaucracy of our existing welfare system.

Now, in the midst of a pandemic, and following quickly on the heels of the bushfire crisis, more of us than ever before are experiencing what it’s like to lose our jobs, be without a home, or worry about where the food for our next meal will come from.

It’s time for us to choose to prioritise the wellbeing of everyone.

And that’s exactly what the Universal Wellbeing Payment will do.

It’s a regular payment made to each of us to ensure our minimum standard of wellbeing. No means testing, no bureaucracy, no strings attached.

It’s the amount you’re owed simply for being a participant in our society.

It means you are free to live your life and contribute to society as you see fit, whether you’re a carer, an artist, a student, a parent, an entrepreneur – you can get on with what you need to do, knowing that you will always be supported regardless of your income.

It means that we’re choosing to structure our economy for the benefit of all of us, not using our collective wealth to prop up the interests of big business and the wealthy few.

It means you will always have what you need to live a good life, no matter what.

The Universal Wellbeing Payment is for everyone. Help us make it happen.

For more information, head to universalwellbeingpayment.com.au

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Greens host expert-led Domestic and Family Violence Forum at NSW Parliament

A UNIVERSAL WELLBEING PAYMENT FOR NSW

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