The Greens say day one of the Women’s Safety Summit was yet another exercise in political theatre for a government that remains completely out of touch with Australian women.
Greens deputy leader and spokesperson on women Senator Larissa Waters said:
“Bless the experts at the Women’s Safety Summit for so patiently saying the same things they’ve said so many times before!
“If the government had actually been listening to women, nothing said at today’s summit should have been news to them.
“Women need more than yet another performative talkfest, they need a commitment to action.
“In his opening word salad the PM talked about opening eyes and hearts — well what about opening wallets? If he really cared about preventing violence against women he’d restore Our Watch’s The Line campaign and invest in respectful relationships education in all schools.
“If he wanted to actually provide women with the frontline domestic and family violence services they need he’d stump up the $1 billion dollars a year that the sector is calling for, address the housing crisis, and raise JobSeeker to provide income security for women.
“If he really wanted to talk about respect, his government would not have voted against implementing key Respect at Work recommendations just last week.”
“And if he was genuinely interested in hearing from people affected by violence, he would have invited survivors to the Summit, he would include National Family Violence Prevention Legal Service in the National Plan advisory group, and he would support a separate First Nations plan that aligns with the Closing the Gap goals.
“An evidence-based, properly funded, comprehensive National Plan is crucial to stopping violence against women. But it’s clear from today that the Morrison Government just wants a showpiece summit and a National Plan for Trying to Win Back Women Voters.
“Once again, they underestimate our intelligence.”
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