Ms LEY (Farrer—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (09:14): I rise to once again mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. This is an important day, and I would like to note the fact that we, as a parliament and as a nation, are supporting it. While we often speak about all manner of causes and mark many days of action, this cause and this day mean a lot to many of us in this place and across the country. It is important that we mark today because we have a long journey to travel to eliminate violence against women and girls. While I'm honoured to rise to speak on this occasion, I find it hard to once again find the words to address an issue all of us wish was long resolved: violence against women. Over recent days I have raised the shocking case of Isla Bell, and I will keep raising it. I say 'shocking' because all of us cannot fathom how it could be that a person could be subjected to such violence and treated, as is alleged, with such callousness. How could it be that this beam of light could be snuffed out? We rightly speak, on these days, of statistics, but I also want us to think of moments. Isla was not a statistic; she was a real 19-year-old woman. She lived, she laughed and she loved. She had hopes, dreams, and a family and friends. She was not a statistic, and she was also not just a story. These violent episodes are not just news bulletins. I want us all to imagine the fear she felt in those final moments. I want us all to imagine it because on days like today it's not just enough to understand the challenge and the data. We can talk about programs and policy, but I want us to feel in this moment. We have to visualise the pain; if we visualise it, how can we not confront the urgency of the challenge? Then, having made that connection as leaders, how can we not heed that call? Step up and call on others to do the same. We must also remember that we often only hear about the most extreme incidents and that the violence we read about in the newspapers is the tip of an iceberg that is rending our society apart. We have to confront just how deep this goes. How many lives have been taken by this scourge? How many hopes and dreams have been snatched away by coercion and control? How many tears have been shed? How many bruises have been hidden with make-up? How many excuses have been invented? How much blood has been spilled? How many women and girls have we let slip through the cracks? How many lives have been forever changed by trauma and abuse? How can we quantify the collective pain and violence that has been brought on the women of Australia and across the world? Today I stand here to represent the opposition, but I also stand here as a woman, a mother, a daughter, a sister and a friend. I have to say women are tired. They're tired of the fear that comes with walking to the car after dark. They're tired of the anxiety that comes with the footy finals. They're tired of having to hide the bruises. They're tired of having to invent excuses. They're tired of the wolf whistles and the stares. They're tired of being groped on dance floors and they're tired of the stalking and harassment. This week, in this chamber, I talked about the chain of events that lead to the most horrific of circumstances. That chain of escalation and violence has taken over 60 women this year. That's another 60 women taken from us too soon. If there were some insurgent force running around our communities killing 60 women and maiming countless others, I know many in this place and watching at home would step up and do everything they could to fight back. Despite the attention and coverage we're rightly seeing on domestic violence, too often it feels like we are becoming numb to the violence, even with the progress we have seen. That is why days like today and moments like these are so important. They are moments for us all to confront the journey we still have to walk. Days like today are tough because they force us to talk about uncomfortable things, but we can find hope in these moments too. Now, more than ever, we see men stepping up and being willing to play their part in eliminating violence. There is more to do, but I'm seeing great work from organisations like the Movember Foundation, which has built a platform and is using it to engage men to keep women safe. We can find hope in the seemingly infinite well of commitment and compassion our frontline community and domestic violence workers demonstrate on a daily basis. We can find hope in the incredible individuals who staff our domestic violence shelters, shelters that keep so many women and children hidden safely. We can find hope in our brave policemen and women, who run towards the danger and stand between perpetrators and their victims. We can find hope in the energy, enthusiasm and confidence of the next generation of Australian girls, who are already standing up and being heard. And we can find hope in the fact that despite the clash views we see in this place on so many matters, on this issue, on eliminating violence against women, we are at one. So today, while I'm deeply saddened by all that violence has taken from us, like so many here today, I continue to find inspiration in that hope, and I remain determined that we do eliminate violence against women because we must.