Thursday, 1 August 2024

Homelessness and family violence

Rachel PAYNE (South-Eastern Metropolitan) (09:54): Disasters are usually a confluence of factors. The disaster I want to speak about is the risk of homelessness for women escaping family violence. This is the perfect storm: a domestic violence emergency coupled with a national housing crisis. Last financial year the number of women killed by an intimate partner in Australia rose by nearly 30 per cent. Meanwhile, a growing number of people are sleeping rough. In 2023 more than 57,000 Australians asked for help with accommodation but were not able to get it. Once homelessness workers tried to find people a home; now they are just grateful if they can find them a car to sleep in. Homelessness Australia said that violence is the biggest cause of homelessness for women and children. It takes courage to leave a violent relationship. The tragedy is that women often find themselves homeless. In the last budget the federal government put an extra billion dollars into crisis accommodation for women and their children fleeing domestic violence. In leading international Homelessness Week, I want the Victorian Allan Labor government to continue to work to ensure that these families have long-term secure accommodation and a brighter future. If we do not achieve that, we risk more violence towards women and children.