A meagre $30 million (partly state funded) for #domesticviolence awareness campaign in #budget2015…
This tweet, posted by Today Show co-host Sylvia Jeffreys was one of many outraged tweets after funding to fight domestic violence didn’t get a mention in Joe Hockey’s second budget speech as Treasurer on Tuesday night.
The government is putting $1.2 billion towards national security – and the fight against terrorism – this year, but just $30 million to reduce the domestic violence epidemic sweeping the country, which the Prime Minister announced as a “national emergency” earlier this year.
This was after he awarded Rosie Batty the Australian of the Year award, for her work in the anti-domestic violence sector.
Tony Abbott even declared it was “the most urgent matter” of the COAG (Council of Australian Governments) meeting in April.
Yet, the fight against family violence – which leaves two woman dead each week – has been given $30 million in funding in the government’s Federal Budget.
To be fair, the government has a much bigger understanding of the level of terrorist threats the Australian Secret Intelligence Service is dealing with each week and Joe Hockey has said there are “no apologies” from him and the government over granting an extra $1.2 billion to national security funding.
But while the nation lost two people to terrorism last year – in the tragic events of the Sydney siege – it has lost 25 women to domestic violence this year.
This number was pointed out by Waleed Aly last night in a plea to the government to give funds to the government domestic violence helpline, 1800-RESPECT, as over 18,631 calls for help from domestic violence victims went unanswered last year alone.
And the government did allocate funds to fighting domestic violence, but only to an awareness campaign, not to the centres at the frontline of the domestic violence crisis.
The Government will provide “$16.7 million over three years from 2015-16” to the awareness campaign – with $15 million to the campaign and $1.7 million the development and administration.
The state governments will contribute the rest of the funds towards the $30 million campaign, as agreed in the April COAG meeting.
Treasurer Joe Hockey said there are further announcements to come around anti-domestic violence funding – when asked about the $30 million in an interview with Today’s Lisa Wilkinson – and the Prime Minister will address this “soon.”
But with two women dying at the hands of a partner of former partner every week across the nation, not every woman currently in an abusive relationship will be alive to hear the Prime Minister make this announcement.
