CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY
I acknowledge the First Australians on whose land we meet, and whose cultures we celebrate as among the oldest continuing cultures in human history.
It is truly moving to see so many people here tonight to support the White Ribbon Foundation, to support its message of zero tolerance for violence against women, to support the need for men to take responsibility for ending violence against women, And to support the actions of this Foundation and the Australian Government as we work together to stop violence against women.
Tonight is far from a celebration.
A cause for celebration would be if this was the very last White Tie dinner, If domestic violence or sexual assault were a thing of the past and the White Ribbon Foundation was no longer needed.
Sadly, that is not the case.
Every day, 1,000 women are violently assaulted across Australia on average.
That is 1,000 today, 1,000 tomorrow, and another 1,000 on Saturday.
Nearly half a million women in any one year.
That is a truly horrific statistic.
Over their lifetimes, almost one in five Australian women will be sexually assaulted. Almost one in three will be physically assaulted. Almost one in four children in Australia will witness violence against their mother or stepmother. Less than one-third of the victims will report it.
As I said at this dinner a year ago, this violence prefers the darkness. It prefers the silence. If we take no action, if we continue to let the darkness and the silence flourish, an estimated 750,000 Australian women will report being a victim of violence in 2021-22.
The cost of violence against women and their children to the Australian economy was estimated to be $13.6 billion last financial year, and if we take no action to shine a light on this violence, that cost will hit an estimated $15.6 billion by 2021-22.
Violence against women is always wrong.
It is never right.
And all men, deep in their hearts, know this.
All women, deep in their hearts, know this too.
Yet to stop violence from happening, we need men to acknowledge publicly what they know privately - that there is never any excuse for domestic violence or sexual assault.
There is no easy solution to this.
It will require change over a generation, possibly more - a cultural shift in the attitude of every Australian which starts with taking responsibility.
A 'head-in-the-sand' attitude towards domestic violence is an insult to every woman or child who has ever known the pain and fear of domestic violence.
Silence is tantamount to tacit approval.
This is the powerful statement of the White Ribbon Foundation, and of White Ribbon Day - that we cannot afford to be silent.
That we have a responsibility to speak up and say:
I swear never to commit violence against a woman.
I swear never to excuse violence against women.
And I swear never to remain silent about violence against women.
This is my oath.
We have to take responsibility, and together, we have to take action.
Responsibility and action - this is the basis of this Australian Government's approach to addressing the scourge of violence against women in our communities.
Previous Governments have taken important steps - increased reporting, law reform and greater community awareness build a platform for further action.
The fact that we are all here tonight demonstrates, though, that we must continue to act, and there is still much to be done.
Domestic violence and sexual assault can and does affect all of us.
Many people mistakenly believe that domestic violence is confined to certain socio-economic, cultural or age groups. It is not. It is happening to our neighbours, our sisters, our mothers, our friends, to our work colleagues.
Violence against women is unacceptable. We must have a zero tolerance attitude.
But an attitude is not enough - we have to take responsibility, as community leaders, as members of our community and as Australian men, and we have to take action.
The Australian Government has begun to take steps which I introduced last year, and I am pleased to report we are now well underway.
This won't happen overnight, it won't solve the whole problem, but it is one that is right, and one that takes both responsibility and action very seriously.
Violence against women is an old problem, but that doesn't mean it's an insoluble problem.
Take smoking. In the 1940s, more than half of all Australian men smoked, but with sustained Quit campaigns and education, increased taxes, and other measures like banning smoking in workplaces and restaurants, we've cut the smoking rate to less than 20 per cent.
That's the third-lowest in the world, and we've saved an estimated 750,000 lives in the process.
The Government's National Plan will be designed to have a radical, long-term effect on the rates of violence against women.
We need to discover what works.
We do not want to just raise awareness. We want to change behaviour, and we have to change that behaviour in every lounge room and kitchen, in every school and workplace, in every pub and sporting club - wherever violence occurs and wherever it is condoned.
The Australian Government is developing a National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women. We began by seeking expert advice from the National Council to Reduce Violence against Women and Their Children, in the form of their National Plan, the Time for Action Report.
We took immediate action in response to this report, in the form of a $42 million investment in the urgent actions identified by the Council, and we have taken the Time for Action report to COAG, to ensure that all levels of Government - State, Territory, Local and Federal - are working together to achieve real results.
Governments of both persuasions, at State and Federal levels, have taken important actions in the past, but they have not been able to solve the problem.
We are developing a national plan - involving all governments, involving the community, involving Australian men, and we are determined to get the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women right the first time.
Time for Action recommends that:
* Communities are safe and free from violence;
* Relationships are respectful;
* Services meet the needs of women and their children;
* Responses are just;
* Perpetrators stop their violence; and
* Systems work together effectively.
This means that our community leaders, education systems, emergency housing, health, police, justice and family support services will all need to be involved.
We launched Time for Action at Narrabundah College, a senior school in Canberra where the students are participating in the Respectful Relationships program. This program works with young people - like the 16 and 17 year olds at Narrabundah College - to:
* raise their personal awareness of ethical behaviour;
* to develop protective behaviours; and
* to develop their skills in building and sustaining respectful non-violent relationships.
The program involves secondary school students at four Canberra schools, as well as training for their teachers, with a $750,000 investment from the Australian Government, the Royal Women's Hospital's Centre against Sexual Assault in Melbourne will work with a local partner, the Canberra Rape Crisis Centre, to build a customised program.
Around 700 students (from years 10 through to 12) and 50 teachers will be involved in the program in Canberra over the three years. That is 700 students who have an opportunity to begin to change our attitudes, to change our society, in relation to violence in personal relationships, 700 young people who will be equipped with the skills to build into their relationships, their families and their communities, values of respect, with an understanding of ethical ways to treat others, especially those who you love, those who you choose to spend your lives with as friends, partners, husbands or wives.
I want to take the opportunity tonight to again thank the Council for their dedicated work in preparing the Time for Action report. Chair Libby Lloyd and Council Member Andrew O'Keefe are with us here tonight.
Their report has given us a firm evidence base from which to build a solid framework, and a vision to aspire to.
A vision for Australia where 'women and their children live free from violence, within respectful relationships, and in safe communities.'
It directs Government to solutions - not easy ones, but sustainable ones, and now the Council passes the baton to Government to take responsibility and to take action.
The Council's report, however, makes clear that in planning our next steps, in taking action, we can't presume that there is a one-size fits all approach. We know there isn't.
Time for Action says:
"... Action on multiple levels - individual, relationship, community, and societal - is more likely to be successful in tackling ... violence against women and their children, than ad-hoc, generalised solutions."
I couldn't agree more. I said before the election that it's time to end the blame game between the Commonwealth and the States.
I said when I launched the Council's report that:
"... It's hard to get a coordinated government effort that could help to make real progress."
And I said that:
"That's about to change. As Prime Minister, I'm determined to lead that change."
The Australian Government will take responsibility and will take action, by developing through COAG and for launch in 2010, an approach that's different.
Never before has violence against women been responded to with all of our systems and services working together. The National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women will set out a plan of action, so we can get on with the job - the very difficult job - of making a difference.
As I've said on everything from health reform to education to national security, we have to stop the blame game between governments in this country. If you have a national problem then you need a truly national solution.
That is why the Council of Australian Governments is instrumental in getting the Commonwealth, State and Territory governments on the same page with this, and just as this is not the sole responsibility of one government, or of one portfolio.
This is not just a women's matter. This is not a just a legal matter. This is not just a policing matter. This is a complex whole-of-government mission.
To this end, COAG has pulled all the threads together in a special Ministerial forum chaired by Tanya Plibersek. The forum includes Attorneys-General as well as a cross section of Ministers drawn from State and Territory government women's, health, justice, policing, and community service sectors.
This is the group that has been tasked with putting together the framework for our National Plan, and getting it right.
The Ministerial forum will examine all the evidence. The forum will consider what can be done immediately and what will take time to get right. It will look at how to build on current successes and create new ones. And it will develop a series of action plans for the short term, the medium term and the long term.
The Ministerial forum will release the National Plan to Reduce Violence Against Women in 2010, and this will be a long-term strategy to 2021.
We are also immediately investing $9.1 million over five years to test and evaluate Respectful Relationships programs, like the one running at Narrabundah College.
Six programs are being implemented in 50 sites across Australia in Round 1 of this initiative.
One of those initiatives is the Sex and Ethics program. It will target under-16 and under-18 rugby league squads in Queensland to start a grass roots attitudinal change in the sport.
I know that White Ribbon Ambassador and NRL CEO David Gallop will join me in applauding this initiative - one that helps to get rugby league off the front page and back to the sports page where it belongs.
Another initiative, the Keeping Safe program, is being implemented in more than 50 schools in the Northern Territory. That program aims to increase young people's capacity to negotiate ethical relationships, identify dangerous behaviour and put in place protective strategies.
I am pleased to announce that the Government has now opened Round 2 applications for the Respectful Relationships Program, at a total cost of $1.1 million. Ads for those applications will appear in papers nationally this Saturday.
This means an additional 2,000 young people are expected to be educated through this round - bringing the total to 8,000 throughout the duration of the program.
We will continue to work with the States and Territories, through COAG, to introduce respectful relationships education in more high schools across Australia.
We are also progressing the Council's immediate action recommendation in relation to an improved telephone helpline service.
The Government is investing $12.5 million in the 24 hour, 7 day a week telephone and online crisis service which is being developed in consultation with the States and Territories. It will be run by professional staff who can make referrals to follow up services, and it will also provide support for counsellors in remote and rural areas.
Last month the Minister, Tanya Plibersek, called for eligible organisations to submit an Expression of Interest to establish the new domestic violence and sexual assault Helpline. The Helpline will be up and running from 1 December this year.
And we are continuing to engage, to seek advice, in the development of this National Plan, through the adoption of another Immediate Action: to create the Violence Against Women Advisory Group.
It gives me great pleasure tonight to announce that the membership of the Advisory Group has been finalised. The group incorporates a wealth of expertise - from each State and Territory - in the disability, cross-cultural, education, policing, media and legal/judicial sectors.
I am also very pleased to see that three members of the National Council have agreed to continue to work with the Group. Libby Lloyd, Heather Nancarrow and Vanessa Swan will share the knowledge they gained over their 12 months with the National Council and I thank them for their vital support.
And Libby and Heather have agreed to continue their important roles as Chair and Deputy Chair of the new Advisory Group.
This will provide the continuity, leadership and direction to drive development of the National Plan. Continuity in thinking, in research is critical to continuing to build our evidence base and develop a plan to take forward.
Libby, Heather and Vanessa will be joined on the new Advisory Council by:
* Annie Parkinson from New South Wales, the current President and a longstanding member of Women with Disabilities Australia,
* Bess Price from the NT, who brings with her a wealth of experience in cross cultural awareness training, as a community liaison and in Warlpiri language services.
* Mick van Heythuysen OAM, also from the NT, a former Superintendent in the NT Police Service who has worked in the remote communities and is a former winner of the Police Officer of Year award.
* Dr Rae Kaspiew from Victoria, who specialises in research and legal policy analysis in the areas of family law and family violence.
* Victoria Hovane from Broome in the Kimberley region of WA who holds a First Class Honours degree in Psychology and is part way through PhD in Forensic Psychology examining child sexual abuse in Aboriginal communities.
* Georgie Gardiner from New South Wales, works with Channel Nine's TODAY show and is a strong advocate for a wide range social issues, particularly those affecting young people and women.
* Norman Raeburn from Tasmania is the current Director of the Legal Aid Commission of Tasmania since January 2000, having previously served in the Commonwealth Attorney General's Department and at the Universities of Monash, Tasmania and New South Wales.
* Dr Leigh Gassner from Victoria was until recently an Assistant Commissioner for Victoria Police.
This group brings with them to a wealth of experience. I thank them for agreeing to work with us on this most important to this task, and look forward to our collaboration.
The Australian Government is also working outside of our immediate response to the Council's Plan to address the challenges and consequences of violence against women.
For example, violence against women - and in particular domestic violence - remains the main reason for homelessness among women and children.
The Minister, Tanya Plibersek, recently responded to a letter from a single mum in Victoria. Jennifer left an abusive partner and wanted to tell Tanya of her plight. She had no car, no job and no money. Her temporary solution was to take her two sons and move in with her mother until she found a place of her own. She explained to Tanya that, even though she is working hard to get back on her feet, rental prices are high and the housing waiting list is long.
Tanya was able to help Jennifer get in touch with an accommodation and support service in her local area, and also gave her the 1800 number for the Australian Government's National Rental Affordability Scheme Hotline - a scheme which gives investors the incentive to build affordable rental homes which they rent out at 20 per cent below market rates.
The Australian Government is investing more than $1 billion in this scheme over the next four years.
Last December the Government released its White Paper on Homelessness which is supported by a $1.5 billion funding package - the most significant attempt to tackle this national shame in a generation. With this funding, states and territories are implementing a range of strategies to assist families to stay at home safely.
Strategies include improving security in the family home, removing and re-housing the perpetrators where appropriate and working with perpetrators to address the cause of their violence.
On top of this, we've invested $5.6 billion to repair and build the social housing we need for Australians who are homeless, or at risk of becoming homeless.
Government initiatives can make a real impact on reducing violence against women, but members of the community have a critical part to play.
Giving our young men good role models is essential.
I'd like to share with you the story of a project based in Murray Bridge/Coorong, South Australia that shows how important community leadership is in addressing domestic violence.
The Spirited Men's Project is run by the Kalparrin Community organisation and funded by the Australian Government. This is a male perpetrators program that encourages positive parenting and educates Indigenous men about the detrimental effects of family violence.
The program is culturally-based and its focus is on the importance of men in the family unit and as leaders in the broader community. Those running the program report a real change in the participants' personal commitment to the concept of "safer family, safer community".
I spoke earlier of the students at Narrabundah College. We are supporting these young people by giving them the opportunity to gain the skills to change their lives, and to change the lives of those around them.
Like the Spirited Men's Program, they are making change, one person, one school, one community at a time.
I said before this isn't easy. I said before it wouldn't happen overnight. And I said we need action on multiple levels - individual, community, government, societal.
But what White Ribbon shows us is that where there is a will there is a way, and when it comes to taking action, taking responsibility, to stop violence against women there is a will.
I cannot stress enough that we can make a difference for generations to come if we work together to reduce domestic violence.
Lastly, let me now officially launch this year's White Ribbon campaign.
I've already taken the oath. I applaud those men in this room and all Ambassadors of White Ribbon around Australia who have taken the oath. I believe that every Aussie male should.
I'm going to encourage every honourable gentleman in the Australian parliament to take the oath. And in the bureaucracy. And in every electorate in the country.
To end men's violence against women, every Aussie male needs to say: "This is My Oath."
Every man, in every walk of life, all of the 10 million males in Australia, should swear on November 25.
Let's make White Ribbon Day an Australian first, a world first.
Thank you. Good night.