Tasmania has taken a significant step forward to make our community safer for women and children with the release today of the Family Violence Action Plan.
The Plan builds on the decades of work by women’s groups and community sector organisations, the work of previous governments, and on the strong tripartisan support shown in Tasmania for family violence prevention and gender equality.
There are some issues which must be above politics. Family violence is one of them. When members of Parliament from across parties speak as a united voice they can go a long way to changing community attitudes.
The nearly $26 million investment in primary prevention, in perpetrator programs and in support for families and victims of family violence, is welcome.
This Plan can’t be the beginning and end of our response as a community, but it’s a good start.
I want to thank my colleagues, Minister, Jacquie Petrusma, and Shadow Attorney-General, Lara Giddings, for their support on this journey over the past year and their work on family violence prevention and gender equality.
I also want to thank the Premier for showing leadership, a genuine commitment to cultural change and to working collaboratively to make Tasmania the safest place in Australia for women and their children.
On behalf of the Greens, I look forward to being part of a Tasmanian Parliament that continues this vital work together.
