Miss JACKIE KELLY —My question is addressed to the Minister for the Status of Women. As reducing domestic violence is a priority of the government, what is the government doing to combat domestic violence in Australian families?

Mrs MOYLAN —I thank the honourable member for Lindsay for her question because each year half a million women in Australia experience either physical or sexual violence. This has a profound effect on the lives of women and children, and indeed on family life. Thirty-eight per cent of women experiencing violent episodes at home have stated that their children have witnessed these incidents. The devastating long-term effects of such violence on the lives of children may never be fully quantified.

The Prime Minister has expressed a strong personal commitment to women's safety and is determined to take a united stand against this abhorrent crime, which shatters the lives and the wellbeing of thousands of Australian women and their children. The Prime Minister, in this respect, has written to the premiers and the chief ministers, inviting them to a national domestic violence summit. The summit will be held on Friday, 7 November at Parliament House here in Canberra, in conjunction with the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. This will be the first time ever that the heads of government will meet to discuss domestic violence as a key national issue.

Despite considerable resources being committed every year by the state and territory governments to shelter support services and the criminal justice system and by the Commonwealth to income support, accommodation and health services, domestic violence continues to affect the lives of a great many Australian families. To further strengthen the Commonwealth's commitment, we will be announcing significant initiatives at next month's summit and this will be the beginning of a process for developing innovative strategies to stop domestic violence. I believe it is vital that we all make—and I hope that there will be bipartisan support for this—a concerted effort to put into place effective measures to prevent domestic violence and to change community attitudes about this crime.

The potential of a unified statement by the heads of government condemning domestic violence and committing to a national approach is a very significant step. It should send an extremely powerful signal to the community that domestic violence will not be tolerated in this country.