$4.7 billion to tackle domestic violence

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Hello and welcome to The World Today. It's Friday the 6th of September.

I'm Stephanie Smale coming to you from the lands of the Turbul and Yugara people in Brisbane.

Today the son of US President Joe Biden faces up to 17 years in prison after pleading guilty

to tax evasion, what will voters make of the latest courtroom drama and bringing the beat

back. Musicians young and old breathe new life into a town band on the New South Wales

south coast.

One, two, three.

We run the gambit of in tune and in time.

I nearly got close to quitting this. I got about that close to quitting. I kept squeaking

and making all these noises that I didn't want to make but since then I've built my

confidence up.

Music.

The nation's leaders have promised to spend $4.7 billion to stop family violence after

a meeting of National Cabinet. That includes more funding for frontline services, legal

aid organisations and support for young people who've witnessed family violence. It comes

after recent government commissioned reports revealed a lack of support for women and children

fleeing abusive relationships as well as a need to be able to get out of the country.

To crack down on gambling, advertising and alcohol. Catherine Gregory reports.

Domestic violence is one of the biggest crises facing the nation, according to Prime Minister

Anthony Albanese. And today state, territory and federal governments have committed $4.7

billion to accelerate their plan to end it within a generation.

We must act to ensure women are safe. These horrific and disturbing deaths and vile violence

must be stopped.

We must be prevented. Achieving this demands action and change at every level of government.

But more than that, it also requires action from every part of our society.

The renewed deal is going towards frontline services to help women and children escape

violence, programs aimed at perpetrators to prevent violence, support for young people

who've experienced violence, as well as boosting legal aid services for women. It will also

boost the pay of those working in frontline services and extend the pay of those who are

working in frontline services and extend the pay of those who are working in frontline

services and extend the pay of those who are working in frontline services and extend the

services that were due to close.

We all understand the responsibility we have to make a difference and we are certainly

committed to doing just that.

The new deal comes after some state leaders complained they have been unable to access

the required funds even for enough frontline workers. equations Queensland Premier Stephen

Miles

We've been able to secure it, still, a valuable deal today, because all of the leaders

of the states and territories and the prime minister..

It's proper paycheck.

The Prime Minister agree that this is a major challenge

and that we need to work together to address it.

Today's announcement comes just weeks

after the government commissioned Emergency Review of Domestic Violence

called for more funding of frontline DV services,

finding there's a lack of beds in refuges

for women and children fleeing violence,

as well as a decline in staff.

Karen Bevan is the CEO of Full Stop Australia,

which provides counselling and advocacy

for people impacted by family and sexual violence.

She says organisations like hers want genuine investments

out of today's package that delivers meaningful change.

Programs in women's refuges where OTs are working with children

to address developmental impacts of living with trauma.

It could be supporting community-based prevention activities

in suburbs, in towns all over the country.

We would like to see that investment in Aboriginal communities

be controlled organisations to make sure that those organisations

can, you know, deliver First Nations-led solutions.

The Rapid Review also recommends drastic gambling and alcohol reform

to prevent domestic violence.

That includes a ban on gambling ads and stronger pokies regulations,

as well as tougher restrictions on alcohol sales and delivery.

Karen Bevan says this is essential.

We know that we can reduce the severity of violence,

the regularity of violence,

and the impact by addressing factors like alcohol and gambling.

State and federal leaders say they are reviewing their alcohol

and gambling laws to see what works best.

Today's package follows the federal government's announcement in May

of $925 million to help victims leave abusive relationships,

as well as a ban on deep fake pornography.

But advocates say even more needs to be done to crack down

on DV perpetrators using technology to facilitate abuse.

Counter disinformation expert Nina Jankovic authored a report out today

which examines how social media apps are being exploited

to perpetuate gender-based violence around the world.

Well, this is everything from online abuse and harassment

to doxing when your personal information and details are released online

to the sorts of things that, you know,

women in domestic violence situations might experience

where their ex-partners are harassing them or stalking them.

All of these sorts of behaviours that are,

are facilitated by the technology that we use every day to connect.

National Cabinet also said this will be a focus for leaders going forward.

Catherine Gregory reporting.

As we've heard there, domestic violence support services

are calling for the funding to go where it's most needed.

Sarah Williams is the CEO of What Were You Wearing,

a not-for-profit organisation fighting to end sexual violence.

She joined me a short time ago.

Sarah Williams, thank you for joining us.

From what you're seeing in your work,

is this new financial commitment be a step in the right direction?

Look, I think that any commitment,

any discussion is definitely a step in the right direction,

but I definitely don't think it's near enough.

And I think it's disappointing that it took a National Cabinet

more meetings to get to this.

I think we saw with the $925 million

that came out of the National Cabinet meeting in May,

that...

...was going towards the $5,000 payments to escaping violence.

And we found as a service that a lot of people weren't able to access this,

they weren't eligible.

And a lot of people had also told us that, you know,

being potentially a single mum with kids escaping domestic violence,

that $5,000 payment was nowhere near enough to get them out.

So as you mentioned there, we've seen a lot of funding commitments,

but women are being killed or injured by men

at a higher rate this year than previous years.

Why is...

Why is there this disconnect?

$764 billion will go into defence from this government before 2033.

And I think so when you put it into comparison like that,

it really shows that actually it's really minimal.

The funding is not being matched.

And obviously our government is showing that they prioritise defence

more than the current crisis, which is happening in this country,

which is women unfortunately losing their lives to violence.

And I think that's because our services are having to turn so many people,

because they're resource short.

We're also not funding Aboriginal organisations.

So organisations like ours, Jira in Victoria,

Mudge and Gal in Sydney, we're not funded by the government.

And by not being funded,

you have to rely on community donations or fundraising events.

And, you know, actually having the funding and the resources at hand

means that you can support the people at need.

And why I'm specifying specifically on Aboriginal women,

is because Aboriginal women are disproportionately affected

by domestic, family and sexual violence.

And if we want to actually make a real good start

at helping end violence against women,

we need to be at all times having Aboriginal women

at the forefront of all conversations,

at funding commitments and at decisions as well.

I think there has been a call since, for years,

but particularly since April's National Cabinet meeting,

that you need to prioritise Aboriginal women,

women's voices and funding Aboriginal women's organisations.

And I think the other concerning thing is,

a lot of this money, it says, won't roll out till next year.

We're already, in 2024, lost too many women.

It genuinely concerns me that we have to wait 12 months

before this money comes into play.

So that's 12 more months of turning people away,

victim survivors not being able to access the supports they need,

not being able to escape, not being able to, you know,

educate our people.

And also do things like men's behaviour change programs.

That's 12 months and it scares me of how many women

are going to be murdered in that time.

That's Sarah Williams, the CEO of the not-for-profit organisation

What Were You Wearing?

And if you're experiencing abuse or know someone who is,

call 1800 RESPECT.

That's 1800 737 732.

If it's an emergency, call 000.

On ABC Radio across Australia, streaming online

and on the ABC Listen app, this is The World Today.

Thanks for your company.

There's concern Australians keen for tickets to music

and sporting events will be slugged with inflated prices.

If a system that's big overseas is rolled out here,

dynamic pricing is about setting the price around supply and demand.

So as demand for tickets goes up, the price can rise to match that.

It's already being used in Australia,

but there's concern it's about to become more common.

Luke Radford explains.

News that 90s pop sensation Oasis are returning to the stage

for the first time in 15 years sent UK fans into a ticket-buying frenzy.

But the ecstasy soon turned sour for many,

who were hit at the checkout with prices up to $400 higher than advertised.

It's down to what's called...

where prices can rise or fall in line with demand.

Jonathan Morrell is a UK broadcaster.

As you can imagine, some fans feel really aggrieved about all of this.

But I suppose if it is, or if they were a band that you loved

and you want to see them again and relive those heady days of the 90s,

I think they know that people will pay the price.

Consumers already face dynamic pricing when booking things like flights,

hotel rooms and rideshare services.

It's used for events.

Oasis has been pioneered in the US and has since expanded to Europe.

And now Live Nation, the owner of Ticketmaster,

wants to expand it across the world, including Australia.

Live Nation chief executive Michael Rapinoe

explained the plan on a Live Nation earnings call earlier this year.

We're just rolling this out around the world.

So that's the great growth opportunity, obviously.

We've had it in Europe, but still in infancy stages.

We're going to expand it down to South America, Australia.

On the streets of Sydney, the idea wasn't well received.

That's absolutely ridiculous, mate.

Nah, ban it, ban it.

We don't want that here.

I feel like that would be really unfair and make the tickets more inaccessible,

especially to young people, because it is like $300 already is quite an expense for me.

If it was like any more, I really wouldn't be able to.

Dynamic pricing already exists for some events in Australia.

Dr Georgia Carroll is a specialist on fan culture.

Formula One, that used to be something that was,

quite affordable and a family day out.

And since it's got popular, that surge pricing got turned on for Melbourne as well,

which has been interesting to see fan reaction to.

And who is willing to kind of be like,

I'll pay hundreds and hundreds of dollars more than I was expecting.

And who is unfortunately priced out of what is, you know,

beloved experience and something that they've done for years in the past.

Experts warn it could relegate some people to a world

where they may never be able to afford to attend events.

Dr Rob Nicholls is a policy and regulatory specialist at the University of Sydney.

Especially if they're paying for it on credit card, which they can't afford,

or worse, paying for it on a buy now, pay later scheme, which they can't afford either.

There's a real problem that you've got where actually the Oasis tickets are everything.

But in reality, putting food on the table,

being able to he's all cool, your house is also really important.

And Dr Nicholls says,

There's a cultural harm, but is there a legal harm?

It's really hard with dynamic pricing,

unless you find things like it's unfair because there was a misrepresentation.

It's unfair because it was based on an abuse of a monopoly.

It's really hard to find the legal case that would actually go after the promoter.

A bill is currently before the Irish parliament that would outlaw the practice,

entirely.

Meanwhile, the UK's competition regulator is investigating whether the sale of Oasis

tickets breached consumer protection law.

Ticketmaster says it did not set ticket pricing policy.

Artists and promoters did.

Luke Radford there.

The son of US President Joe Biden has pleaded guilty to tax evasion charges,

averting a weeks-long trial just before it started.

Hunter Biden has admitted to failing to pay more than a million US dollars in taxes

while he was spending $1.5 million on a ticket.

He said,

He could be facing up to 17 years in jail, as Declan Gooch reports.

As prosecutors prepared to begin the trial of Hunter Biden on tax evasion charges,

the defendant dropped a bombshell.

Potential jurors had already gathered for the selection process

when the son of US President Joe Biden pleaded guilty to all nine charges.

Outside the Los Angeles courthouse, his lawyer, Abby Lowell, explained the decision.

Hunter decided to enter his plea to protect,

from unnecessary hurt and cruel humiliation.

This plea prevents that kind of show trial

that would have not provided all the facts or served any real point in justice.

The 54-year-old failed to pay $1.4 million US dollars in taxes between 2016 and 2019.

Prosecutors accused him of instead spending huge sums on drugs, sex workers, cars and holidays.

Hunter Biden has been open about his struggles with drug,

and alcohol addiction.

Abby Lowell suggested that played a part in his client's offending.

There's no doubt, his case was an extreme and unusual one for the government to bring.

Like millions of Americans, Hunter was late in filing and paying his taxes.

Unlike those millions of Americans, he was charged criminally for his failures that occurred

during the depths of his addiction to drugs and alcohol,

and which he has rectified years before he was ever charged.

In court, Hunter said,

Judge Mark Scarcy told Hunter Biden he's facing fines worth up to $1.3 million US dollars,

and up to 17 years in jail.

Tom Dupree is a former Deputy Assistant Attorney General at the Department of Justice,

and spoke to US Network CBS.

I don't see the judge imposing anything anywhere close to the maximum sentence of 17 years.

I think the judge will impose something far less than that,

in all likelihood, I would think probably less than five years.

Joe Biden didn't answer questions from reporters as he returned to the White House.

In June, the President faced political damage from another of his son's convictions,

after Hunter Biden was found guilty of illegally buying a gun while using drugs.

Hunter Biden's pleas this week avoid the prospect of another politically damaging trial in the middle of an election campaign.

But since Joe Biden's not campaigning for re-election anymore,

Jarrod Monshine from the United States Studies Centre believes the latest court drama

won't change the view of many voters.

At this point, if you look at US politics, not only is it polarised, but it's also calcified.

So I think something as, in my view, inconsequential as a former, soon to be former President's son,

pleading guilty to these crimes, I think is really not something that is likely to shift the dial on this election.

Jarrod Monshine from the United States Studies Centre ending Declan Gooch's report.

The tiny Tasmanian community of King Island is reeling from news one of its biggest employers is shutting its doors.

The well-known cheese maker, King Island Dairy, is due to close next year

because its multinational owner, Saputo, couldn't find a buyer for the 120-year-old brand.

Alexandra Humphries reports.

In the middle of Bass Strait, north-west of mainland Tasmania, is King Island.

Its name has become synonymous with the cheese it's famous for producing.

King Island Dairy's been making cheese for more than a century,

shipping its wheels of blues, brie and camembert across the country.

But that now looks set to end with yesterday's announcement the factory will close next year.

It'll mean the loss of 58 jobs and an industry that's helped sustain the island's population of about 1,700 people.

This is going to have a significant social and economic impact.

Ian Soar is the president of TasFarmers.

I mean, if this happens in a major city, Launceston, Melbourne, Sydney, losing 60 jobs or even tripling that,

the impact wouldn't be really felt.

But this is going to be significantly felt.

It's a small island.

It's a small, well-knitted-together community.

So the impacts are going to be large.

Vernon Filby's lived on King Island for most of his life.

He's also the local council's deputy mayor.

The whole island will be very shocked about it because it's the flow-on effect

that will affect everything, shops, schooling, hospital, shipping,

just about everything that's on King Island.

And it's got such an iconic name.

It's promoted King Island before the golf courses, before anything else.

The King Island Dairy's owner, Saputo, says its other cheese brands are thriving.

And while King Island Dairy holds a nostalgic place in the hearts of Australians,

it hasn't maintained its position in today's competitive food industry.

Nick Howell, The New York Times.

Nick Howell founded Bruny Island Cheese.

He's familiar with the struggles of running a dairy company on an island.

It's a bit of a tough gig, obviously.

You know, the costs involved in doing what they do are inherently higher

at a place like King Island.

He believes the King Island business needs a structural overhaul.

Seeing a business model that concentrates on the quality of the location,

the heritage of the brand, producing super premium products

that are marketed with a very high quality,

and a very different strategy than to the current one,

I think is absolutely the way to go.

I think that absolutely there is a business there without doubt.

I mean, the tragedy is that King Island represents possibly some of the best dairy country on the planet.

And as a cheesemaker, seeing this business close,

I mean, I can only begin to think how the farmers are feeling at the moment.

Saputo owns other well-known cheese brands like Cracker Barrel, South Cape, Devondale, and Milford.

industrial scale businesses and they're very successful at it and King Island doesn't lend

itself to that. I can't comment what what happened within the company but it would

would have been competing with other brands that Saputo had. I think it was just competing

in these companies that really run these businesses on an industrial scale and

it slipped to the bottom of the list. The Tasmanian government is offering support to

the company's workers and farmers and says it will work with Saputo to find a new operator.

Alexandra Humphreys reporting. Town bands were once the beating heart of many Australian country

towns providing the soundtrack to events, dances and ceremonies but the number of musicians showing

up to perform is in decline. That's changing on the New South Wales far south coast where musicians

young and old are filling the air with tunes again. As Sarah Maunder reports.

The bigger district band has been a part of the town for 125 years. In its heyday it had dozens

of members but in recent times numbers have dwindled to just 15 people. Among them is

euphonium player David Moore who's been performing in brass bands for more than 60 years. When you

look around the country particularly in the country area but also in the city there's been a big

reduction really in the number of bands that have managed to survive. Worried these groups might be

facing a final curtain call in 2019 David Moore helped found the Bega All Ages Development Band.

It's a group for new players to develop their skills.

One, two, three, one, two, three, four, one, two.

This band is for anyone who plays an instrument that wants to play with other people.

Nick Keeling is the band's conductor and trombonist.

Anybody can come and anybody does come and it's unpredictable sometimes.

Today the band room is near capacity with more than 20 regular members.

Players range in age from seven to 77. A music teacher by trade Nick Keeling grew up in a strong

high school band tradition in Austin, Texas.

We run the gamut of in tune.

In time. It's like a, it's an axis.

Ten-year-old Kobe Taylor plays saxophone in the band and is now a regular soloist.

When I first joined the band I was a bit nervous. I nearly got close to quitting this. I got about

that close to quitting. I kept squeaking and making all these noises that I didn't want to make

but since then I've built my confidence up. It's, it's like a another world for me to come and play

music. His bandmate, 76-year-old Frank Farrell, was convinced to pick up the

cornet after a 50-year break.

It's like walking into a family. It's like a little family. I'm like a kid learning all over

again. And being able to play with the kids, they're teaching me. You know, I'm not teaching

them, they're teaching me.

11-year-old clarinet player Kimberley Schindler enjoys the welcoming atmosphere.

It's not one of those fancy bands that you see in like the opera house,

like at the Olympics or something. You know, you can just like play and not be judged.

She's even encouraged.

She's even encouraged her mum, Liz, to join.

I'm proud of my mum for just like picking up the flute again and playing it.

Band rehearsals are held on Wednesdays, which are now one of Liz Schindler's favourite nights of the week.

I'm very proud. I call Wednesdays my happy day now.

One, two, one, two, three, four.

It's hoped some members of the development band will be inspired to join the Bega District Band,

but conductor Nick,

Keeling, says the main goal is to foster the love of playing.

The main thing that the band is providing is a purpose for music.

The band is starting to feel like this is us and we belong to this.

10-year-old Kobe Taylor says he's proud to be a part of music tradition in Bega.

We just keep getting bigger and bigger.

Bigger luck with all the new people coming and joining our band.

Y'all nailed it that time, guys.

Conductor Nick Keeling and the Bega All Ages Development Band,

ending that report by Sarah Maunder and Vanessa Milton.

And that's all from the World Today team.

Thanks for your company.

I'm Stephanie Smale.

Hi, I'm Sam Hawley, host of the ABC News.

You're listening to the ABC News Daily Podcast.

Millions of Australians live in apartments, a number that keeps growing.

But many would have no idea how their apartment blocks are being managed

and will be shocked to find out.

Today, Four Corners reporter Linton Besser on the greed in Australia's strata industry

that's draining the pockets of innocent Australians.

Look for the ABC News Daily Podcast on the ABC Listen app.

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