Right now, women in Newcastle fleeing violence are being turned away from accommodation and support services because of insufficient funding from the Morrison Government.
Each year nearly 10,000 women and children seeking safety are turned away because there isn’t a bed. For many women and children, this means homelessness – couch surfing, sleeping in the car, on the street or returning to the perpetrator.
This is why an Albanese Labor Government will establish the Housing Australia Future Fund to build 30,000 social and affordable homes across the country. This includes 4,000 homes for women and children fleeing violence and older women on low incomes who are at risk of homelessness, plus an additional $100 million for crisis accommodation.
We also know that an extra pair of hands can make an enormous difference. The services we talk to say that an extra person working on staff can help between 80 and 100 additional women and children each year. That’s why Labor will invest in 500 new workers across Australia to support people who are facing violence.
Here in Newcastle, Labor will provide $1.2 million for additional crisis accommodation. We expect this could help as many as 108 women and children to find refuge. We will also fund ten workers to help 800 women and support them during the hardest time of their lives.
Survivors of violence are strong, and they deserve our help to rebuild their lives. Over the past decade, the Liberals have failed to take this task seriously.
Labor will tackle the scourge of domestic violence with ambition and urgency.