It was an absolute pleasure to sit down in Melbourne with domestic and family violence services supporting women and children, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families, LGBTIQA+ people and culturally diverse communities. They are all such strong advocates.

I was also pleased to speak with them about Labor’s commitment to invest $8.1 million in crisis accommodation and fund an additional 19 workers to support people experiencing violence in Melbourne.

Thanks too to my colleagues for bringing their own experiences and those of their communities to this discussion.

I joined Louise Miller-Frost - Labor for Boothby for a visit to Catherine House a service that supports women experiencing homelessness, a service Louise used to lead. 

We need specialist services that support women experiencing homelessness, who are often fleeing domestic violence. An Albanese Labor Government will provide $6.5 million for additional crisis accommodation in South Australia. Survivors of violence are strong, and they deserve our help to rebuild their lives.

There is an epidemic of domestic violence across Australia and the housing crisis is only making this worse. Here in Perth refuges are often full. When women are ready to leave violence, they struggle to find secure, affordable accommodation. That is why housing is at the heart of Labor’s women’s safety policy. Here is western Australian we will invest $7.8 million for additional crisis accommodation. And across the nation we will build 30,000 new homes with 4,000 of these for women and children fleeing violence and older women at risk of homelessness. Thank you to Starick for hosting us and sharing the stories of your important work.

We heard heartbreaking stories from frontline services in the Hunter Valley, who are working with too few resources. One of the services has been forced to provide tents as crisis accommodation to women fleeing violence. This is not good enough.

If elected, an Albanese Labor Government will provide $1 million for additional crisis accommodation in the Hunter and fund six new support workers to help up to 480 women each year.

Sharon Claydon MP is such a strong and effective advocate for women and girls in her community. The frontline domestic and family violence services here have told me that they are struggling to keep up with demand. There isn’t enough housing for women and children fleeing violence and they need more workers to walk with women. Labor has been listening. I was proud to stand with Sharon and Nova for Women and Children: Homelessness and Domestic Violence Service today and talk about Labor’s plan to provide $1.2 million for additional crisis accommodation in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie. We will also fund an additional 10 workers go help up to 800 women and support them during the hardest time of their lives. Survivors of violence are resilient and they deserve our support to rebuild their lives.

Great to be with Fiona Phillips MP at the Shoalhaven Homeless Hub in Nowra. A big thanks to Kathy Colyer from Supported Accommodation and Homelessness Services Shoalhaven Illawarra (SAHSSI) for meeting with us. As the regional housing crisis worsens and rental vacancies in the South Coast reach an all time low, services like SAHSSI are crying out for help. They simply cannot keep up with demand. A Labor Government, if elected will invest in housing and extra workers here on the South Coast and in the Southern Highlands. Women leaving violence deserve our support.