Boost services to tackle violence: Labor

A new drive by Prime Minister Tony Abbott to tackle domestic violence is undermined by cuts to funding, the opposition says.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott looks over a family violence plan in a meeting with 2015 Australian of the Year, Rosie Batty in Melbourne, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2015.

 

• PM puts family violence on the national agenda

Labor wants the Abbott government to restore funding to women's services if it wants to have any credibility on tackling domestic violence.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has called on the states to ensure domestic violence orders apply across borders by the end of 2015.

Mr Abbott has appointed Australian of the Year Rosie Batty and former Victorian police chief Ken Lay to a new advisory panel on violence against women.

But opposition spokeswoman Claire Moore says while the move is welcome, the government should restore $240 million of funding that was cut from community services.

She says a quarter of people seeking homelessness services are women and children fleeing domestic violence.

The government has also cut $15 million from legal aid and $43 million from community legal centres.

Domestic violence will be a key topic for the next Council of Australian Governments meeting.

Mr Abbott says it's a serious problem and his government is determined to make a difference.