On Easter Monday, the Coalition opened a new front in the Federal election fight: combating the terror of venturing out to the supermarket.
The Coalition announced on Monday that it will spend “more than $750 million to improve community safety by tightening laws and the nation’s borders” if it gets elected on May 3.
Its goal? To address the fears people have around crime.
Several Liberal candidates have been pushing the policy, including Nathan Conroy, the Liberal candidate in the Victorian seat of Dunkley, who said that: “People don’t feel safe in their own homes, their businesses, taking public transport or even at the shops.” He noted his community has seen a 21 per cent increase in crime.
Asked about the crime wave, the Opposition leader backed the comments from Conroy and highlighted several examples, including the firebombing of tobacco stores and “other crimes” that are “key causes for people to be worried about their safety.”
What Dutton and Conroy didn’t mention was the uptick in domestic and family violence incidents in Victoria and across the country that are a significant driver of overall crime stats (other than Dutton hinting at having “more to say” on the issue following a question from a journalist during the press conference on Monday).
While the seat of Dunkley on the outskirts of Melbourne has seen a 21 per cent increase in crime – and there are indeed examples of businesses being firebombed in Victoria as well as several gangland related murders over the past two years, more generally there was a two per cent fall in the number of offenders facing police proceedings in the past financial year. It was the lowest rate recorded since 2008. Victoria has been an outlier, experiencing growth in these figures, while the figures have fallen elsewhere.
But one of the significant factors contributing to the uptick in crime in Victoria is family violence, as it has been in other states too.
Family violence incidents reached an all-time high in 2024, up 11.3 per cent from 2023 to hit the record 104,768. Family violence order breaches also increased.
In NSW, while many major crime categories have been trending downwards over the past ten years, domestic violence assaults have been up 3.1 per cent a year on average, while sexual assault has been up 8.8 per cent a year on average. Other major crime areas like robbery, break and enter, and general stealing have all been described as “much lower” than a decade ago.
Almost half of all homicides in NSW last year were domestic violence-related, according to the NSW crime stats, with 45.9 per cent of the 85 murders being DV-related.
These stats are significant and terrifying.
Dutton would have an excellent opportunity right now to highlight the family violence details in these stats to outline what his government would do differently: how they would support the states and territories in law reform to protect victim survivors of domestic and family violence, how they would crack down on family violence order breaches, how they would build prevention mechanisms, and how they would help fund frontline servies to support those escaping violence.
Given his “tough on crime” and “here to protect” persona, there has arguably never been anyone better to outline a substantial election commitment for ending domestic and family violence.
Dutton says he has the “experience and determination” to stand up to organised crime syndicates and outlaw motorcycle gangs. He’s declared he will strengthen laws and provide more funding for police and intelligence agencies, “to stop the crime gangs, protect our borders, and protect our community.”
But he’s unable, or perhaps unwilling, to take on domestic and family violence with the same level of tenacity and strength.
When asked what the Coalition is doing to address women’s safety, several Coalition candidates have pointed to the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation as their number one weapon in the fight. This is one thing and has its place, but it’s not a policy for addressing family and domestic violence.
To be fair, Labor has not made any significant announcements for addressing domestic and family violence this election campaign either. The entire conversation has been chiefly missing from leadership debates, policy announcements and campaign stops.
But the Coalition’s reach to help people feel “safe” feels especially cynical in its lack of willingness to address and centre tackling the uptick in domestic and family violence, to focus instead on the idea that people are supposedly afraid to go to the supermarket.
If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, call 000.
If you need help and advice call 1800Respect on 1800 737 732, Men’s Referral Service on 1300 766 491 or Lifeline on 13 11 14.
***************************
Become a Women’s Agenda Foundation member and support our work! We are 100% independent and women-owned. Every day, we cover the news from a women’s perspective, advocating for women’s safety, economic security, health and opportunities. Foundation memberships are currently just $5 a month. Bonus: you’ll receive our weekly editor’s wrap of the key stories to know every Saturday. Become a member here.