Domestic Violence: new funding agreement

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Hello, welcome to PM. I'm Rachel Mealy, coming to you from the lands of the Turbul and Yugara

people in Brisbane. Tonight, frontline domestic violence services receive a $4.7 billion funding

package at National Cabinet. Also, the total value of new housing loans continues to increase.

There's been a spike in the number of loans given to investors. How long can the property

bonanza continue? And wheelchair basketball is on the up in country towns. If you have a disability

or a mobility restriction in a country town,

regional town, there's no way that you can play a team sport. So this is really giving

people an opportunity to be able to play a team sport for the first time for most of them.

First tonight, frontline domestic violence workers are optimistic a $4.7 billion funding

package will help alleviate pressure on their services and protect more women and children.

State, territory and federal governments announced the renewed deal after a national

contract was signed.

today, saying they hope to end family violence within a generation. But while the injection of

money is welcome, advocates warn there needs to be greater transparency and accountability

over how it's spent. Elizabeth Cramsey reports.

Support for women and children fleeing domestic violence has never been in such high demand,

particularly in regional and rural parts of Australia.

We are seeing a huge increase in violence.

It's a pandemic of family violence and it's generational.

Ella Mackay is the manager of family safety and child well-being at Child and Family Services

in Ballarat, Victoria. That's a huge disconnect between what we're seeing in terms of the stats

and what we're actually able to and what services we're able to deliver.

I am actually really scared of what this means, what our future could mean when we look at the

violence rates. Ballarat has been making headlines this year for some shocking cases of violence

against women.

And Ella Mackay says demand for services is spiking.

The Victorian government has put more resources into tackling family violence,

but it, like other states and territories, has been calling for more funding to support

frontline services, legal aid groups and prevention programs.

Recruiting enough staff has also been a problem.

At a meeting of National Cabinet, an agreement was reached that sees $4.7 billion committed

by all governments to...

tackle the crisis. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

My government will invest a total of $3.9 billion over five years in support for frontline legal

assistance services to be delivered through a new partnership agreement with the states

and territories. Importantly, it will ensure as well that there's an uplift in pay parity for

people working in community legal centres.

Package also includes new ways to identify high-risk perpetrators, prevention programs and support for

young people who've witnessed violence.

So one of the things that we have as part of the announcement today, for example, is $80 million

for allocated looking at the issue of how we enhance and expand child-centric trauma-informed

supports.

Today's commitment is in part a response to an emergency report commissioned by the federal government,

which recommended...

a boost in funding as well as reforms to alcohol and gambling policies.

Author and educator Jess Hill was part of the expert panel.

I'm really thrilled to see a number of our recommendations acted on,

but it's not really up to me to decide whether it's enough.

So that's really up to the sector as to whether the government has done enough here.

But what's more exciting is the indication that the Commonwealth will actually start

comprehensive work...

to completely revision the way that children are attended to as victims in their own right.

She explains the link between alcohol and violence.

We see over one in three incidents of intimate partner violence involving alcohol.

We've seen with the Domestic Violence Death Review network data that over 60% of men who kill an intimate partner

have engaged in problematic drug and or alcohol use in the lead up to that or at the time of the homicide.

There was recent research in New South Wales...

from the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research,

that showed that alcohol-related family violence is particularly high in Sydney in the wealthiest areas.

While there's been no commitment to reform regulations around alcohol,

New South Wales Premier Chris Minns says discussions are underway.

We've all agreed, as per this communique, to review our alcohol laws and come back to the National Cabinet.

But everybody's at different stages.

Some have responsible service of alcohol provisions in place

and laws in place.

Some have restrictions on opening hours and trading hours, days of the week.

So we're all at different places.

But I think that review will see what works in other jurisdictions.

And like a good federation, we'll steal what works and apply it to our own area.

Earlier today, the newly elected Northern Territory Chief Minister, Leah Finocchiaro,

said decisions about how funding should be allocated to each state and territory

should be based on their particular needs.

Rather...

...than on population size alone.

I think this is a really important start.

And we're looking forward to continuing to work with our federal counterparts on this issue.

We've been very clear that the Territory is overrepresented in domestic violence statistics.

And I think all of my colleagues here today understand that.

And so it's about doing our share of the heavy lifting as well,

with our $180 million over five years that the NT's put on the table.

But also then working through this new agreement.

To deliver safer outcomes for Territory women and children.

Northern Territory Chief Minister, Leah Finocchiaro, ending that report from Elizabeth Cramsey and Catherine Gregory.

And if you're in an abusive situation or know someone who is, call 1800 RESPECT.

That's 1800 737 732.

If it's an emergency, call triple zero.

So what kind of difference will that funding boost mean for services dealing with the ramifications of domestic violence?

Day in and day out.

Dr Jenny Gray is the Chief Executive of the Women's Legal Service of WA.

We spoke earlier.

Jenny Gray, what's your response to the package?

Will this money for frontline legal assistance services be enough?

Women's Legal Service were really pleased to see this announcement today from the Commonwealth Government.

This uplift in funding is a clear recognition of the need to invest in more frontline services.

To address women's need to escaping family violence.

We do have a concern however that this additional funding, once it is divided between all the

states and territories and then amongst all the different categories of legal service

I guess the other missing piece of the puzzle is the possibility that,

To address women's needs that are escaping family violence,

We do have a concern, however, that this additional funding, once it is divided between all the states

and territories and then amongst all the different categories of legal service providers

Will not be enough to meet a need across a sector that is already stretched well and truly beyond its capacity.

is the contribution from the states which we haven't seen yet and we are really looking forward

to seeing what Western Australia will commit alongside the Commonwealth investment. There's

specific money in this Commonwealth package to raise the salaries of workers in the community

legal sector. How will that make a difference and what would that mean for an organisation like

yours? It's imperative that we pay our frontline legal staff what they are actually worth and

reflect the value of the services that they provide and that they pay parity between the

work that they do in the non-government not-for-profit sector and what they do in other

sectors. Right now our sector struggles to attract and retain practitioners who for obvious reasons

looking at jobs that are much more lucrative

in a competitive employment market. So this is important for us so that we can

provide that uplift that will see them paid at a more equitable level. The package also means

that there is a continuation of funding beyond that current five-year deal. Does that give you

certainty about planning and employment? One of the greatest things that we are recognising in

today's announcement is the certainty in ongoing funding that will allow

us to be able to provide the services that we need to be able to provide the services that we

need to be able to provide the services that we need to be able to provide the services that we need.

to continue to retain our existing workforce and actually hopefully attract more to work with

us to provide essential services to women and children escaping family, domestic and sexual

violence. It's so important. We don't know much more detail at this stage but we're told that the

funding package will also pay for innovative approaches to identify and respond to high-risk

perpetrators to stop violence. We don't know much more detail at this stage but we're told

that the funding package will also pay for innovative approaches to identify and respond to high-risk

perpetrators to stop violence. We don't know much more detail at this stage but we're told

that the funding package will also pay for innovative approaches to identify and respond to high-risk

perpetrators to stop violence. We don't know much more detail at this stage but we're told

that the funding package will also pay for innovative approaches to identify and respond to high-risk

perpetrators to stop violence. We don't know much more detail at this stage but we're told

that the funding package will also pay for innovative approaches to identify and respond to high-risk

perpetrators to stop violence. Can you give me an example of how, if I gave you a pot of money for that

purpose, how would you spend it? That's a really great question and something that the rapid review

has also identified that the need for us to engage directly with the perpetrators and look at

mechanisms to change behaviour. A lot of the investment in our services is at the crisis end

and ensuring that we are keeping women and children safe. However, unless we find a mechanism

to turn off the tap, that is male violence against women, this problem will continue. And we know that

perpetrators don't stop perpetrating when they go from one partner to another, that their pattern of

behaviour does continue, which makes it all the more essential that we engage those specialist

providers in men's behaviour change programs to do that critical work as part of this equation.

You've worked in the sector for many years. What does it feel like to see this discussion

elevated to now?

Is enough being done? Is the national conversation happening to the right degree now?

It's really pleasing to see the way in which this issue has been elevated. A concern that we do have

is that the conversation ebbs and flows, very sadly, according to the number of women who are

killed and the amount of publicity that these horrendous murders get. What we need to do is

keep the conversation on the agenda until we have

a full and truly addressed men's violence against women.

Dr Jenny Gray is the Chief Executive of the Women's Legal Service of WA. This is PM. I'm

Rachel Mealy. You can hear all our programs live or later on the ABC Listen app.

Extraordinary amounts of money continue to flow into Australia's property market, despite

13 interest rate rises from the Reserve Bank since May 2018.

Extraordinary amounts of money continue to flow into Australia's property market, despite 13 interest rate rises from the Reserve Bank since May 2018.

Official figures show that the total value of new housing loans increased by almost 4% in July

to $30.6 billion, with a spike in the number of loans given to investors driving the gains.

So can the property bonanza continue? Business reporter David Taylor.

Billions of dollars poured into the Australian property market in July,

despite the Reserve Bank's tighter monetary policy. Tim Lawless is the head of research at

CoreLogic.

Annual growth in home lending accelerated in July, surging 26.5%, up from 18.7% in June.

At $30.6 billion, the total value of national home loans in July was at the highest level

since May 2022, when the Reserve Bank began its interest rate hiking cycle.

And it's investors, rather than owner-occupiers, driving the gains.

I think it also highlights that investors don't really care too much that yields are really low,

because yields haven't been this low for quite some time.

Yet we're still seeing investors flocking into the marketplace, chasing capital gains.

Bureau of Statistics figures show the value of new investor housing finance loan commitments

rose 5.4% to $11.7 billion in the month of July.

It means investor home lending...

...alone surged 35.4% in the year to July.

So I think this really highlights just the strength of the market, the underlying capital gains

that's attracting investors to the marketplace. And it doesn't look like we're seeing any signs

that this trend in finance growth is slowing down. In fact, it's stepped up through the

latest month on July data.

Tim Lawless, why? Why do you think investors are so confident that prices will keep rising?

Well, I think there's...

There's a few things here. You know, with interest rates likely to move lower eventually,

probably, or hopefully early next year, there could be some speculation that the market could

see a positive inflection as interest rates come down. I think the other factor is, you know,

it just comes back to capital gains. When the market's rising in value, you do generally see

a fairly positive impulse or positive pulse from investors. That's exactly what we're seeing at the

moment. And it does seem that the states with the strongest value in the market are going to see

value growth are starting to attract the strongest growth in investment lending.

In Western Australia, the average mortgage size has soared 17% to $552,000 over the year to July.

In Queensland, it's up 15.2% to $599,000. And South Australia is up 12.5% to $561,000.

But in Victoria, by contrast, growth in the size of the average home loan is 4.6%, reaching

$17,000. And finally, New South Wales, up 4.6% to $783,000. AMP Deputy Chief Economist,

Deanna Mussina. And the expectation that home prices will continue to rise in Australia,

especially in some particular pockets like Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia,

that's why we're pushing investors to be optimistic about the market.

Based on the view of your research team and the people you speak to, the property

investors and the clients that you speak to,

is it generally understood that property prices in Australia just keep rising?

I don't think it's an expectation, but people are extrapolating what's happened in the past

and using that as a guide to the future. There are still a lot of pockets of people that have

a firm belief that property prices are going to fall in Australia and that we are still

in some sort of bubble. I'd say that the number of those people has declined in recent years,

because even though we've seen tough times in the economy, we just haven't seen

the number of people that have declined in recent years. So I think that's a good thing.

Big falls in prices. I mean, prices have still fallen by about 10% peak to trough like we had

when the RBA started raising rates, but not really more than that. And it was

varied across different states and territories. I think most people expect that price growth

will continue to be positive in Australia, but whether it's as exuberant as it has been

in the past few decades, I'm not really sure. I don't really think that that's the expectation

that people have.

Ahead of the busy spring,

selling season, the Commonwealth Bank says the number of new listings is increasing,

although there is considerable variability across cities and regions.

David Taylor reporting there. 3D imaging and artificial intelligence will be used to detect

skin cancers across Australia in the latest health tech innovation. It means in the future,

people in rural and remote areas won't need a clinician to personally examine them. It's a

development which experts say could help people get a diagnosis and treatment faster and could

save more lives. Kathleen Ferguson reports. In most airports now, you have to walk through a scanner

which looks for dangerous objects. Well, similar looking machines have been rolled out across

regional Australia, but they aren't looking for weapons. Instead, they're trying to find skin

cancers. Professor Monica Yander is from the University of Queensland Centre for Health Research.

They are actually photographic devices. So there are 92 cameras. The 92 cameras all go off at once

and take pictures that then the computer turns into a virtual avatar of the person.

And the good thing about those avatars is that the clinicians then can really zoom in very closely

to the skin and can look at everything that is happening on the skin and assess it in detail.

The machines are up and running in multiple,

locations with nine in regional areas across Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria.

The $3 million trial is funded by the Medical Research Future Fund. The technology is also

being combined with artificial intelligence in the hope it improves melanoma screening,

especially in regional areas where rates of skin cancers are higher and access to specialists can

be limited. Monica Yander again. What we are envisaging is a technology-focused solution.

In the future. So we imagine that as the technology progresses, it will become more widely available.

And what that will mean is that there probably will be a technology-focused screening examination

at the beginning, which should be easily accessible in various locations and people

in regional and rural areas should be able to obtain that screening examination and

telediagnosis will be possible. That means that even if there's no local,

doctor, there's low availability, they should be able to get access to their skin checks a bit

easier. When you started your career, did you ever imagine something like AI algorithms and 3D

machines being used in this way? No, absolutely not. So definitely not. I think it's amazing

all the different technology opportunities that we have nowadays. We are still learning how to

integrate them all. And there's definitely,

there's definitely more we need to do, but yeah, it's absolutely fascinating.

The machine itself was developed in the United States,

but the systems needed tweaking because of Australia's climate.

We are collecting a huge amount of data and we are developing Australian AI systems. The reason

for that is that the Australian skin is looking quite different to anywhere else in the world

because of our very high exposure to the sun. So people in Australia have much more sun damage

on their skin. And so it's much more difficult for the AI to actually be accurate in Australia.

And we need the Australian underlying data to develop really accurate algorithms.

Professor Farah Maghrabi is from the Australian Institute of Health Innovation at Macquarie

University. She tells me these kinds of developments are exciting.

I think it's a fantastic initiative because there is a workforce shortage, particularly,

you know, of specialists in the rural areas. So this kind of technology really has

a potential to provide these services where we don't have the expertise that is available.

She says technological advancements in health are happening often,

but she says this project goes a step further.

This one is particularly interesting because it's actually solving a kind of particular problem.

And it's sort of providing services,

where they are not available. And it's actually a clinical trial here that they're going to do,

and they're going to evaluate it over a period of time. So it's fantastic to sort of see funding

for this kind of research to happen that is solving a problem on the ground.

She says there's a feeling of excitement in the health tech industry.

Most definitely. I mean, there are a lot of AI tools that are being rapidly deployed.

And look, the need in health care is quite urgent as well. And so,

for example, the Productivity Commission released a report a couple of months ago.

And basically, what they estimated was that by integrating digital technology and AI into

health care, we could save about $5 billion a year. And we could also ease pressures on the

system by saving up to about 30% of worker time.

Professor Farah Maghrabi from the Australian Institute of Health Innovation,

ending that report from,

Kathleen Ferguson.

NASA is preparing to undock Boeing's beleaguered Starliner spacecraft from the International Space

Station and bring it back to Earth without any astronauts on board. That certainly wasn't the

original plan. When Starliner arrived at the space station in June, problems were detected

with the vessel. And now NASA has decided it can't be completely confident Starliner can bring the

crew back safely.

It means the two astronauts will wave the Starliner goodbye, and they'll be stuck up there until

another ship is sent to retrieve them. Sarah Webb is an astrophysicist at Swinburne University of

Technology.

The hope was always to bring down the astronauts and the Boeing Starliner, because now they will

need to wait for at least six months until they come back down on a crew dragon. And so it is,

you know, both unexpected and expected at the same time. And at the moment, they're bringing

down that Boeing capsule.

Because they're getting prepared to launch one of the crew dragons. So Crew 9, a new set of

astronauts, will be returning to the space station in the next couple of weeks.

So, yeah, tell me more about the plan to actually get them down.

Well, they've been put to work. So they're in, yes, space is dangerous and can be a little bit

scary. But they're in the safest place you could be in space, which is in a very well-stocked,

very well-maintained space station. So they have now integrated into full crew life. So when we

send astronauts up to the space station, they have jobs.

They have basically a nine-to-five job of maintaining the space station and doing

experiments, etc. And what's really interesting, I guess, for these two astronauts is that they're

now part of that Crew 9 mission. So once the two new astronauts arrive in September, we will get

four astronauts coming home. And they will remain up there working away for six months until they're

able to come back on that crew dragon. I sort of think of these astronauts,

and they were up there, they thought, for a very short mission. And then they

found out they were going to be up there for, you know, much, much longer. I'm trying to decide

if they would have secretly been happy or unhappy that suddenly I have to spend six months extra in

space. I mean, you know, maybe they're thinking, you know, God, thank God my cat's annoying the

hell out of me back at home, you know, or something like that. How would you feel?

I think one of the most insightful things I've heard around this whole situation is from

astronaut Chris Hadfield. And he mentioned that, look, it did not go as, you know,

what had been planned, which was eight days. But astronauts train their entire,

entire lives for significant amounts of time until they get to go to space.

These two astronauts have previously been to space multiple times before,

but not in recent years. And so, it's almost like a gift because they most likely,

based on the new testing and the training for the Artemis missions, these two astronauts don't have

any plans to return to space, at least in the next couple of years on the books. So, it's almost like

a glass half full. Yes, it's unexpected, but what an incredible kind of gift to get more time doing

the job that you love. And so, I think it's almost like a gift because they most likely based on the

and have trained your whole life to do. A gift to them, but for Boeing, is this a bad

moment? Is this a damaging story for them or is it just part of the deal?

It's hard because this is not good press. And it's certainly with the rest of the things that

have been happening in the last year. What I think is really difficult is that this was a proof of

concept mission. So, it is one of the few vehicles that has been funded with multiple tenders. I think

the best case scenario is that it's not going to happen. It's going to happen. It's going to happen.

It's going to happen. It's going to happen. It's going to happen. It's going to happen. It's going to

happen. It's going to happen. It's going to happen. It's going to happen. It's going to happen.

The best scenario is that it will return a move loan from it.

Dr. Sarah Webb there from Swinburne University speaking to David Sparks.

As the world's best wheelchair basketball teams battle it out in Paris, a former gold medalist

has his sights set elsewhere. Four-time Paralympian Gerry Hewson is looking for the sport's next rising

star somewhere surprising in the regions. He says a key way of improving the sport before Brisbane

2032 is to improve the sport. He says the sport is a key way of improving the sport before Brisbane

2032 is to expand the code to all corners of the country. Lani Otaway reports.

So roll it out, hold it against your wheel and pick it up.

Wheelchair basketball legend Gerry Hewson is teaching kids how to play the game in the

regional New South Wales town of Parks about five hours west of Sydney.

So give it a go, so roll it out and see if you can pick it up.

He wants them to know it's not that different to the stand-up version.

Really the only difference is certainly there's no slam dunking allowed. That's really, really

important.

He's on a mission to grow the sport.

He's set up five wheelchair basketball clubs this year in Orange, Cowra, Goulburn, Port

Macquarie and now Parks.

The thing is if you have a disability or a mobility restriction in a country town, regional

town, there's no way that you can play a team sport. So this is really giving people an

opportunity to be able to play a team sport for the first time for most of them.

Wheelchair Sports New South Wales ACT supplies 14 chairs worth $6,000 each.

However, court hire costs for up to two years, thanks to state government funding.

Jerry Hewson, who grew up in Young, says projects like this are key to boosting the sport before

the next Paralympics.

So I came across Kurt Fearnley many, many years ago when I was doing a wheelchair basketball

road show for wheelchair sport at Blaney High School. He jumped in a chair. He actually

played for Australia in an under-23 world championship in Canada and won a bronze medal.

So you don't really know who's out there. Who's the next Kurt Fearnley? Who's the next Jerry

Hewson? Or as we have here, Victoria Simpson, who is part of the Gliders squad and has played

for Australia in that team. So you don't know. So these people are out there and we want

to try and find them.

Victoria Simpson grew up in Parks and travelled to nearby Forbes to play wheelchair basketball

when she was in primary school. But after two years, the club shut down.

The nearest next place to do basketball is probably Sydney or Canberra. You couldn't

really go to anywhere close by unless that meant like around 10 hours of travel each

weekend.

So what did you do in the meantime?

So I mainly just did like training by myself or I have like younger siblings and then I'd

make them like get into a chair and they'd help me with drills and all that. So yeah.

The aspiring Paralympian will coach the Park side and is delighted locals can now access

the sport in her hometown.

I think it's really important for everyone to be able to participate and especially for

children that are younger that do have disabilities that are able to play wheelchair basketball.

Like I think it's very important to have places for them to be able to come and you know just

to have fun and to get a feel, oh is this something I really want to do or is it something

that is just fun or I won't pursue it or is it the starting steps to becoming someone

like yeah, Gerard Hewson.

Kathleen Newman and her family moved to Parks from Sydney four years ago. But sport opportunities

for her now 13-year-old son Cameron Hughes, who uses a wheelchair, were limited.

Anything could have been good. Unless we're travelling like a two hour round trip going

to Orange or Dunedin.

Yeah.

Or Dubbo, the closest cities. There hasn't been anything in the town for him.

She's relieved he can now participate with others who might not have a physical disability.

It's not just for him and other wheelchair users. It's great for other people to come

join in them sports and actually see what it's like to be in a wheelchair and see it's

maybe not as difficult as it looks.

Cameron says he's excited to play his beloved game again after a four year hiatus.

There's not really many.

Um, sports for people in a wheelchair, but it's pretty good they're started like this.

So people can actually get in a wheelchair and play. It's fun to play with other people

that are in a wheelchair, even if they're not always in a wheelchair.

Gerard Hewson's mission doesn't end here. He's got plans to set up another eight clubs

in rural areas next year. He says the feeling he gets seeing kids give the sport a go is

unbeatable.

When I first started in 1980, I couldn't hit the ring, couldn't hit the net, couldn't hit

anything, you know.

And for me, it was all about fun. It was about getting out there, getting your sweat up, hanging

around people that maybe certainly for me had the same disability and finding out how

they did things. So if it's seeing kids out here, like for the first time, that's unreal.

That's what it's all about.

Wheelchair basketball legend, Gerry Hewson, ending that report by Lani Otaway.

And that's PM for this week. PM's producer is David Sparks. Technical production by Lena

El-Sadi, David Sargent, Nick Draculis and Joel Cassava.

I'm Rachel Mealy. Thanks for your company this week. Good night.

Hi, I'm Sam Hawley, host of the ABC News Daily podcast. Millions of Australians live in apartments,

the 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 Vesser

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.