Protecting the most vulnerable in our community must be a priority. Domestic violence remains one of the most pressing social crises in Australia, requiring urgent action. I'm pushing for increased federal funding for frontline domestic violence services and crisis accommodation, stronger legal protections and tougher penalties for repeat offenders, and improved access to financial support for survivors escaping abuse. 

It is heartbreaking and unacceptable that Australians — men, women and children — continue to suffer domestic and sexual violence. It is unacceptable that when women try to leave an abusive household, and it is predominantly women and children, they struggle to find anywhere safe to go. 

A constituent wrote to me recently about the financial stress and housing insecurity she faced after leaving a violent household. It had made her feel she should never have left in the first place. No one should be made to feel that way for choosing safety. 

Protecting the most vulnerable in our community must be a priority, and for too long leaders have failed to treat this crisis with the urgency it deserves. 

Prevention starts with what young people are shown 

Violence against women begins with attitudes towards women, and those attitudes are increasingly being formed by an algorithm. 

It takes just 23 minutes for a social media account mimicking a 16 to 18 year old boy to be fed misogynistic content — regardless of the account's viewing preferences. The boy doesn't seek it out. He doesn't have to. It arrives because contempt for women holds attention, and holding attention is what these systems are built to do. 

That is a domestic violence issue. We cannot spend a generation teaching respect in classrooms while a recommendation engine spends every evening teaching the opposite. 

That's why I've called on the Government to fix our feeds by regulating divisive social media algorithms and requiring platforms to offer an opt-in option for those algorithms — giving Australians the choice to turn these on or off. 

Where leadership has fallen short, community organisations are filling the gap 

Bradfield is home to a number of services supporting people experiencing domestic and intimate partner violence, and they do incredible work. 

One of them is Taldumande in St Leonards — Taldy, as it's known — which has been supporting young people for half a century. Taldy provides crisis accommodation and helps young people at risk of homelessness find a long-term home, supports those navigating the justice system, and runs a youth hub and education programs. 

One-third of Taldy's clients were victims of violence perpetrated by a parent or guardian. Family violence is a significant cause of mental distress in children and young people, and a major reason children end up homeless. When children have nowhere to go, it is organisations like Taldy that step in. 

And they are at full stretch. Taldy's housing services are at capacity 24 hours a day, and in a single year it was forced to turn away more than 400 young people. Part of the problem is a siloed funding approach that doesn't account for the overlap between domestic violence and youth homelessness. 

The National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children focuses on prevention, early intervention, response, and recovery and healing. Organisations like Taldy are essential to two of those. We will not meet the National Plan's goal of ending violence in one generation without resourcing frontline organisations properly, and as the Government develops its next action plan I'm urging it to do exactly that. 

Alongside that, I'm pushing for increased federal funding for frontline services and crisis accommodation, stronger legal protections and tougher penalties for repeat offenders, and improved access to financial support for survivors escaping abuse. 

We need to promote zero tolerance for violence in this country. 

If you or someone you know needs help 

In an emergency, call 000. 

1800RESPECT — 1800 737 732, or text 0458 737 732. Australia's national domestic, family and sexual violence counselling service. Free, confidential, 24/7. Online chat at 1800respect.org.au 

Kids Helpline — 1800 55 1800. Counselling for young people aged 5 to 25, 24/7. 

Lifeline — 13 11 14. Crisis support, 24/7. 

13YARN — 13 92 76. Crisis support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. 

Men's Referral Service — 1300 766 491. For men who want to stop using violent or controlling behaviour. 

Free interpreters are available. Call TIS National on 131 450. 

Below you'll find the work I've been doing to address domestic violence — in Parliament, in the media, and here in Bradfield.