Family Violence Reform Implementation Monitor Bill 2016

Mr J. BULL (Sunbury) — I am also pleased to contribute to the debate on the Family Violence Reform Implementation Monitor Bill 2016. As the member for Essendon has said, this is a very important bill. It is important because it continues the great power of work done to prevent family violence, which we know is the most important law and order issue in the state and, certainly in my view, in the nation. Over the course of the last two years we have learned of, heard about and seen the horrors of family violence. We have seen and heard about the devastation that is caused through harm, through fear and through intimidation that breaks families and inevitably shatters lives.

I did speak in the house some time ago about a local community forum that I hosted with the Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence in Sunbury. That brought together a number of local groups, including Victoria Police, Sunbury Community Health, both Hume and Melton city councils, individuals and local organisations. To hear firsthand the powerful local stories about the impacts of family violence was incredibly devastating. But for me it only solidified my resolve that all of us in this chamber, and in the other chamber as well, must do more in this space. As members of this government we committed to establishing Australia’s first Royal Commission into Family Violence, which, as we know, handed down its report on 29 March 2016, with 227 recommendations. One recommendation relates specifically to the bill before the house this afternoon: to establish an independent statutory monitor to report on the implementation of the royal commission’s recommendations.

This bill is essentially about holding this government to account and also governments to come after it. It is about oversight, but most importantly it is about real reform and real action that saves lives and protects the most vulnerable in our society. A standalone monitor, as we have heard, will be created by this bill. This will ensure that there is a single, dedicated focus on reporting on the implementation of the recommended reforms to the family violence system.

The implementation monitor will carefully look at the whole range of recommendations that have been put to the government and report extensively to the government on the progress being made in this incredibly important space. The implementation monitor will be appointed by the Governor in Council and will independently report directly to the Parliament. The implementation monitor will have complete discretion as to the content of these reports, and that separation, which members have spoken about this afternoon, is incredibly important. We need to ensure that we have a separation of government business and government policy and that we have a body that will inevitably check the pulse and ensure that these recommendations are being implemented. Nothing could be more important than getting this right. Nothing could be more important than looking at the 227 recommendations that the government has accepted from the royal commission and ensuring that there is transparent and independent oversight.

We know that former Acting Chief Commissioner of Police, Tim Cartwright, has been appointed as the family violence implementation monitor. This is a very good appointment and he certainly will do important work. Mr Cartwright’s detailed experience of government, community organisations, the justice sector and of course the operations of Victoria Police will be crucial to effectively monitoring the breadth of the royal commission’s recommendations that reach across various government departments, agencies and the community sector.

If we look at the 227 recommendations — and we have certainly heard from members this afternoon about the detail of the recommendations, the work that is required and the need for a holistic approach to community policy — I think it is very difficult to pigeonhole this in any one particular space. Having that intergovernmental department approach ensures that we are able to work on a whole range of fronts, whether it is within education, within our schools, within our hospitals or within local community organisations and whether it is about how we interact with each other or how we treat women — all of these very important things. I know the member for Essendon spoke extensively about this, and I could not agree more that this is a holistic change that is required, and it is certainly important to be addressing it in this way.

Over the next two years we are investing $572 million to address the 65 most urgent recommendations. This funding is already beginning to make a real difference to victims through an expansion of housing, counselling and legal services — all of those on-the-ground services that we know make a genuine and real difference to assisting people and helping people in the most dire of circumstances.

To ensure a true partnership in delivering family violence reform, we have established a number of bodies, including the Victim Survivors’ Advisory Council, chaired by Rosie Batty, and before the end of the year we will release the 10-year plan for family violence reform and Victoria’s first gender equality strategy. This goes back to that holistic approach right across a range of government departments to ensure that real action is occurring. We know that the monitor will be tasked with reviewing the government’s progress as well as implementing the royal commission’s recommendations and the 10-year statewide family violence action plan.

Quite often people in the community come to me and say, ‘Well, you in government may do a whole range of things, but then the next government, state or federal, will come in and reverse what you’ve done’ or ‘Nothing lasts; nothing sticks’. This 10-year statewide strategy and the bill to actually introduce the monitor mean that these are things that will last. These are things that will stand across governments. It is my view that the Andrews Labor government has a long-term view in a whole range of policy areas, none more than this one. I think this is incredibly important as, right across the various political parties, we all look to make a genuine difference and stop this happening in the first place.

As we have heard, the bill will require the implementation monitor to report to Parliament on 1 November 2017 and, after that, annually until 1 November 2020. The monitor has complete discretion about what is included in each report, as I have already mentioned. That separation is vitally important to make sure that the monitor is able to do its job appropriately and to ensure that we are doing our job appropriately. In addition to the primary monitoring and reporting role, the implementation monitor’s functions will include informal consultation and engagement with departments and agencies in the course of monitoring, and we know that the responsible minister can ask the monitor for advice on issues of concern in implementing those recommendations.

If you look at direct investment, I think that those of us on this side can be incredibly proud of the money that has gone into this space. As I have mentioned, in April 2016 we announced a $572 million package to start delivering on 65 of the royal commission’s most urgent recommendations: $152.5 million for a housing blitz; $121.9 million to give children the best possible start in life through expansion of the maternal child health program, family services and counselling; and $61 million to expand the respectful relationships in schools program and to deliver Victoria’s first gender equality strategy.

There are a whole range of financial commitments that come with supporting the recommendations, and I certainly want to take this opportunity to commend the Premier for his leadership on this issue. From day one he has put this on top of our agenda as a government, and he has not once deviated from his commitment to get things done in this incredibly important space. I also want to take the opportunity to thank the Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence and her staff for all their hard work and efforts. Victoria Police, our local community legal centres and community health and support workers — can I also just say that we as a government thank you for all of the work that you do in supporting those who need it the most. I am incredibly proud of everything that we have achieved thus far in this space, and I want to take the opportunity to thank each and every one of the agencies that have assisted. I commend the bill to the house.