FOUNDATION TO PREVENT VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND THEIR CHILDREN

The Hon. T.A. FRANKS (15:54): I rise today to speak about the Foundation to Prevent Violence Against Women and their Children. This is a new national organisation which is charged with progressing the important business of raising awareness across the community and engaging individuals, groups and organisations, and indeed state and territory governments, to take action to prevent violence against women and children.

Sadly, we know that in fact violence is all too prevalent in our society. I think all members would agree with me that violence in our community in any form is unacceptable, but in particular violence against women and children is a large challenge for us, because the biggest risk factor for becoming a victim of sexual assault, domestic or family violence, is being a woman.

The foundation does not seek to duplicate the work of others in this space of working to end violence against women and children. It certainly, I think, is an organisation that is much needed and will add a strong voice, and I hope we will see great cultural change and systemic and programmatic change as a result.

Many of you would be aware of the foundation, but it is still in its infancy, so I will outline its structure. It has a part-time chair, who is the former senator and former leader of the Australian Democrats, Natasha Stott Despoja. I was privileged to hear her speak on this foundation last night at the Working Women's Centre of South Australia's AGM. I also play tribute to Natasha's longstanding commitment to equality for women and ending violence against all people, but particularly women and children.

Natasha Stott Despoja is working with a small start-up staff team and they are currently hunting for an inaugural chief executive officer, so the job is open there for anybody across the country who would like to step up and take on this challenge. I think it is an incredibly worthy challenge. They would be working with a chair who is incredibly impressive and a board which certainly inspires confidence.

That board includes: Professor Bamblett from Victoria, who has a strong track record in advocating for the rights of Aboriginal children and young people and their families; Rosemary Calder, who is well versed in issues impacting upon women as a former head of the commonwealth office for the status of women; Alan Cransberg, who is a Western Australian and involved with Alcoa (his experience and indeed sporting connections will be most valuable); Anne Edwards, our own South Australian, who is also chair of Australia's first National Centre of Excellence to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children; and Phil Lambert, a White Ribbon ambassador, who has a strong educational background and who is from New South Wales.

This foundation is currently in a three-month-long consultation process, and that consultation has included in South Australia both Adelaide and Port Augusta. It has reached a really broad cross-section of the population, particularly those communities where women and their children are especially vulnerable to violence.

The foundation is bringing together work that is being done across the country from both not-for-profit and government spheres, and is keen to involve all governments, state or territory, in their work. Much good work has been done in this area, and it takes as its framework or model the beyondblue experience. We saw that initiated by Jeff Kennett, and I am sure members would agree that beyondblue has done an enormous amount to raise awareness particularly in the areas of anxiety and depression within mental health. If members think of this as the new beyondblue, but in terms of working on the area of violence against women and their children, they will get the picture.

Beyondblue was fortunate enough to be sponsored by both the commonwealth and the Victorian governments for its inception, and the national foundation is now currently supported and enjoying the funding of the commonwealth and Victorian governments, which have invested a total of $6.5 million over two years to kickstart the foundation and to drive initial projects.

I know that the foundation's chair has met both with the Weatherill Labor government and the Marshall Liberal opposition representatives in this state, and I would dearly love to see our long history of bipartisanship and priority to addressing the scourge of violence against women and their children addressed here, not just standing up with the words, but stumping up the cold, hard cash. I hope that this will be a top election priority for all parties contesting the March election.