Wednesday, 1 May 2024

Family violence

Brad ROWSWELL (Sandringham) (14:17): My question is to the Treasurer. According to an independent Parliamentary Budget Office report, Labor is preparing to discontinue $9.7 million in funding for the family violence prevention and early intervention with culturally and linguistically diverse communities program. Why is the Treasurer cutting funding to family violence protection services when women in this state and around the country are dying?

Tim PALLAS (Werribee – Treasurer, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for Economic Growth) (14:18): I thank the member for his question, and I suppose it comes down to this basic retort: if you ask a silly question, you get a silly answer. Effectively what was asked of the Parliamentary Budget Office –

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! The minister will come to order. Member for Lara!

James Newbury: On a point of order, Speaker, on relevance, this is a serious question about family violence prevention, and I would ask you to bring the Treasurer back to that serious question.

The SPEAKER: The Treasurer to come back to the question.

Tim PALLAS: It is good to have friends like the Manager of Opposition Business when you actually have a threadbare contribution to make in this Parliament. Quite frankly, the Parliamentary Budget Office made it very clear. They were asked the question: what if the government decided to get rid of all lapsing programs? Lapsing programs exist in a budgetary sense for a variety of reasons. Sometimes they lapse because the point in time at which they are to perform their function has been achieved – end of project. Sometimes they exist because in effect the government have formed the view that they will assess the performance and the efficiency of those programs. And sometimes the government want to keep the capability to review the effectiveness of those interventions to see if there are better interventions that we can make. That is what a lapsing program is all about. The fact that somebody audited all of those lapsing programs is simply a demonstration that as a government we actually do not set and forget when it comes to putting in place recurrent expenditure. Those opposite of course had a pretty standard approach. They did not worry too much about lapsing programs; they just slashed right across the board. Who can forget their behaviour when last in government – a 10 per cent cut to public servants.

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! I will call the Manager of Opposition Business for his point of order, but I ask the Leader of the Opposition to cease interjecting across the table.

James Newbury: On a point of order, Speaker, the Treasurer is debating the question.

The SPEAKER: I ask the Treasurer to come back to the question.

Tim PALLAS: To be very clear, this government is and remains committed to supporting Victorians through the most appropriate interventions and through the most effective programs that we can identify, and we will continue to review their efficiency and effectiveness. Whilst those opposite might want to scaremonger, let me assure the people of Victoria that we will not reduce essential services – services that are necessary for the provision, the upkeep, the maintenance and the wellbeing of Victorians. Of course we may have different views about what they are, but I tell you what, if the people of Victoria have to make a choice about who looks after their wellbeing and shows genuine concern for that wellbeing, I am more than happy to have that debate with those opposite anytime.

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Member for Frankston, you can leave the chamber for an hour.

Member for Frankston withdrew from chamber.

Brad ROWSWELL (Sandringham) (14:22): After a decade of Labor in power, family violence, kidnapping and abduction offences have gone up by 92 per cent. Nearly all of these offences were against women. After all the funding and announcements, why are women now less safe in Victoria?

The SPEAKER: Member for Sandringham, you need to connect your supplementary question to your first question for it to be allowed.

Brad ROWSWELL: I contend that the initial question and my supplementary question both related to family violence and both related to funding.

Mary-Anne Thomas: On a point of order, Speaker, it is my suggestion that the supplementary question is indeed entirely different to the substantive question, which related to a question about the Parliamentary Budget Office and lapsing programs and did not mention –

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! I cannot hear the Leader of the House on her point of order.

Mary-Anne Thomas: The second question, as I said, was about family violence and there was no linkage between the two questions. I ask that you rule it out of order and that you ask the member, as you have already done, to rephrase his question and get on with doing that.

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: It does not bother me if question time goes all day.

James Newbury: Further to the point of order, Speaker, the first question related to family violence prevention programs and cuts therein, and the supplementary related to outcomes of those cuts over time.

The SPEAKER: I ask the member for Sandringham to rephrase his question.

Brad ROWSWELL: After a decade of Labor in power, family violence, kidnapping and abduction offences have shot up by 92 per cent. Nearly all of these offences were against women. After all of the funding and announcements from the Labor government, including $9.7 million in funding for the family violence prevention and early intervention with culturally and linguistically diverse communities program, why are women now less safe in Victoria?

Tim PALLAS (Werribee – Treasurer, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for Economic Growth) (14:26): I thank the member for his supplementary question, such as it is. This government of course led the nation by putting in place a family violence royal commission – $3.8 billion and implemented every one of the 227 recommendations of the Royal Commission into Family Violence. That was big in Australian terms. It was big in national terms. It was bigger than every jurisdiction in the nation added together, including the Commonwealth, contributing to dealing with issues relating to domestic violence. If you want to look at exactly what this government’s commitment looks like –

John Pesutto: On a point of order, Speaker, on relevance, the question is about outcomes for women in Victoria. Can I ask you to direct the Treasurer to answer the question.

The SPEAKER: The question related to funding for family violence prevention and early intervention programs. The Treasurer was being relevant.

Tim PALLAS: Four women a week are dying in this country, and attitudes to women matter. The behaviour of those opposite matters. When the leader of opposition business will not resume his seat when the manager of government business is on her feet, that is a sign of the attitude and the paucity of your mentality.

James Newbury: On a point of order, Speaker, on standing order 118, there are people on all sides of the chamber who have been victims of family violence. I would ask the Treasurer to think very carefully about what he is saying and to be relevant to the question that he is being asked.

The SPEAKER: The Treasurer has concluded his answer.

Peter Walsh: Further to the point of order, Speaker, I assume the Treasurer was referring to the member for Ringwood and the member for South Barwon when he pointed to our side of the chamber.

The SPEAKER: Leader of the Nationals, you know that is not a point of order.