Brough Rhetoric Not Matched By Commitment

Senator Trish Crossin says if the Federal Government’s commitment to addressing domestic violence and indigenous affairs had matched its rhetoric then Mal Brough might be taken more seriously in the current debate.

Programs like the Federal Government’s Partnerships against Domestic Violence wasted $50 million on research and reports without doing a thing for Aboriginal women.

“It ended up providing a national hotline for women, money for advertising agencies and talk fests.

“It did not result in more safe houses on communities, funding for Aboriginal Women’s Legal Services or money for Child Sexual Abuse and Domestic Violence Counsellors.

“The chronic overcrowding in Aboriginal housing has just got worse over the last ten years.

“All the experts in the field including Professor Fiona Stanley agree that overcrowding facilitates opportunities for child abuse.

“Professor Stanley also makes the point that child abuse is not limited to the indigenous community but it is common to the most disadvantaged marginalised sections of the community - probably in our own suburbs.

“Mal Brough could start by getting a proper briefing from his department, Family and Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, on what it has done over the last ten years.

“Family and Community Services has carriage of the domestic violence issues and responsibility for women’s affairs after the Office for the Status of Women was down graded and included in his department as the Office for Women.

“I am pleased that the Minister’s attention is on issues of domestic violence and child abuse as it is part of his portfolio but he is just shooting from the hip with suggestions of paedophile rings, federal intervention and summits.

“He needs to do his homework first and examine the failings of his department and government over the last ten years. The expertise is at his fingertips with the staff who have worked on this and numerous reports on the issue.

“What have they done to implement their programs on the ground and what has happened to the ATSIC initiatives on domestic violence since it was abolished and mainstreamed?” Senator Crossin said.

2006-05-18