Women’s contributions to the nation remain understated and underappreciated. From addressing the gender pay gap to providing better health and childcare services, I am focused on empowering women in every aspect of their lives. While women make up more than half of the Australian voting population and are more educated than ever before, they still earn on average 78% of the average man’s wage and retire with around 25% less superannuation. I will work towards policies that deliver cheaper and more accessible early childhood education and care, support women’s workplace options, such as Work from Home policies.
Women continue to disproportionately carry the burden of care for family and community members. There must be more clarity around changes and cuts to the National Disability Insurance scheme, as well as more funding for the needs of carers who carry a heavy load with minimal government support.
I support increased funding for research into women’s health issues and improved access to contraception and menopause therapies.
Women are one of the fastest growing homeless groups, especially in the over 60 aged group. Young women find it near impossible to buy a home. I support building social and affordable housing that prioritises the needs of women and gender-diverse people.
Domestic and Family Violence, and Sexual Assault
Women are disproportionately the victims of intimate partner and domestic homicide and violence around the world. Australia is no exception, and this is a national emergency. We need urgent, meaningful action to protect women and children in our community. It is a leading preventable contributor to homelessness, mental health, illness and death for women and children.
As I write this on 28th March, 16 women have already been lost to violence in 2025. Last year 69 women were documented to have lost their lives. The figure is probably higher, as a proportion of missing women are deceased. More than 20 times the number of deceased women have been hospitalised due to violence. We must act now.
The major parties have not included significant new spending for prevention or response mechanisms to support victim survivors. The Women’s Budget Statement included information about the violence crisis and details of past investments, but no announcements regarding meaningful new spending to address these issues. The Opposition reply was also silent on this issue.
While violence is not the only crisis facing women in 2025, it is a crisis that has left those working in prevention and response disappointed. Prevention includes challenging the condoning of violence, advancing women’s equity and independence, strengthening respectful interactions and relationships, supporting men and boys’ development of healthy masculinity.
Early interventions can stop violence escalating and prevent it from reoccurring. This includes interventions to address all violence across the lifespan, improve the timely of responses to newly identified cases of violence, and increasing the accountability of those who use violence. This includes funding for evidence-based specialist men’s behaviour change, mental health, and substance abuse programs. New techniques are required to detect and monitor potential homicide offenders, while those at high-risk of becoming victims require targeted, timely responses to protect them.
We require a nationally consistent approach to family violence orders with coordinated sharing of information across systems and jurisdictions to ensure that women and children have consistent and effective safeguards no matter where they live. Children’s voices must also be heard, with adequate funding and infrastructure to support them. They must have the ability to apply for their own protection orders when necessary.
Women must feel supported, not shamed or blamed when they seek help. We need to build a community where safety and dignity are at the heart of our response to violence. I will collaborate with all levels of government and community organisations to ensure frontline services in regional areas are properly resourced.
Community legal centres are essential to provide local support and advice when it’s needed most. Building a locally grown and educated workforce will ensure consistent and accessible support in regional areas.
Domestic and family violence is a leading driver of homelessness for women and children. We must think outside the box when addressing urgent accommodation needs. In Groom, we should consider innovative solutions, including purchasing and converting hotels to provide safe spaces for women and children in crisis.
My team and I are committed to working with community and local leaders to reduce our horrendous statistics to ensure all people in our region can live free from fear of violence and are safe at home, school, work, in the community and online.
It is vital that we properly fund local services that support women and children fleeing violence, as well as educational programs and resources for schools and workplaces.
I also support the call from local leader and expert, Adair Donaldson, Creator of @upstanding_education and member of the QLD DFV Prevention Council who states:
“It is time for men in our region to stand up and start playing their part. This is not a women’s issue”.
Sexual Assault Response
Sexual violence is the most underreported crime affecting society. When reported, only a small number of cases make it to court, and those that do are notorious for retraumatising the victim survivors.
I am committed to working collaboratively to ensure that the recommendations from the Australian Law Reform Commission’s inquiry into justice responses to sexual violence in Australia are implemented in full to strengthen and harmonise sexual violence and consent laws. I am advocating for the establishment of specialised gender violence courts to handle cases exclusively related to gender-based violence. These courts feature
Expert judges trained in trauma-informed care and specialising in gender violence issues.
24/7 access to an on-call service to provide immediate protection and legal recourse for survivors.
The ability to issue protection orders swiftly, prioritising survivor safety and informed judicial responses.
Our region deserves nothing less than comprehensive, compassionate, and effective solutions. I will continue to fight to ensure regional areas have the resources needed to keep women and children safe.
Please listen to my podcast with Dr Kirsten Hunter about the justice response to sexual violence