Nearly 400 delegates to the summit delivered a statement to ministers calling for the next national plan,set to start in mid-2022,to be “backed by long-term bipartisan investment”,be informed by diverse lived experiences especially of victim-survivors,emphasise the critical role of data and research,and link with other national strategies such as the one for mental health.
Victorian Minister for Women and Prevention of Family Violence Gabrielle Williams said the message from the summit was consistent with what victims and advocates had been telling governments for years.
“I have to admit,after the last four days I am somewhat disappointed that despite the advocacy of the women’s movement for decades ... the national conversation has been really slow to shift,” she said.
“Platitudes are plentiful,but there have been no commitments from the Commonwealth.
“The sector knows what they need,victim-survivors know what is broken,the Commonwealth needs to listen. We don’t need more conversation,we need action. We need reform. We need resources.”
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But Senator Payne urged governments,service providers and communities to continue to work constructively and collaboratively,saying that was what had made the first national plan a success in her view.
“I would be deeply concerned if that nonpartisan approach was to be thrown away by some now for their own reasons,” she said.
“We have moved past so many of the political differences that bedevil governments these days,exacerbated by clickbait efforts on social media,exacerbated by small-minded political point scoring when we are,in fact,together so much stronger and so much more than that.”
She also said if anyone left thinking the only answer to the complex problems discussed was more funding,“they would have taken the wrong outcome from this summit”.
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The summit statement also called for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to lead the responses for their communities.
A separate statement delivered by Indigenous advisory council chair Sandra Creamer went further,calling for a stand-alone plan to end violence against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and children. Women’s Safety Minister Anne Ruston indicated on Mondayshe was open to such a move.
Thelma Schwartz,principal legal officer of the Queensland Indigenous Family Violence Legal Service,said governments had to abandon the notion that there would be a one-size-fits-all model.
She echoed the Indigenous leaders who said on Monday thatwomen in their communities were not listened to.
“I refuse to be used or seen as a tick and flick measure. What we want to see is action,” Ms Schwartz said.
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