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The Morrison Government congratulates our Australian Paralympians after a showcase of unforgettable performances in Tokyo.
The Australian team of 179 was the country’s largest ever at an overseas Paralympic Games notching up 80 medals – 21 gold, 29 silver and 30 bronze.
Minister for Sport Richard Colbeck said the efforts of our Paralympians had reinforced the nation’s love for green and gold competition on the world stage.
“This was a Paralympic Games for the history books,” Minister Colbeck said.
“From the moment Danni di Toro and Ryley Batt proudly carried the Australian flag at the opening ceremony, the Australian Paralympic team displayed the best of our
nation to the world.
“Madison De Rozario’s nail-biting gold medal win in the T54 wheelchair marathon on the final day was a fitting finale.
“We have celebrated gold medal triumphs, but we have also laughed, cried and marvelled at the fortitude of all our athletes who have given their very best for their country.”
Minister Colbeck said it was fitting to see our most decorated Paralympic medallist Ellie Cole carry the Australian flag in the closing ceremony.
“It exemplified the performances of every single athlete who have each been superb national ambassadors,” he said.
“The outstanding performances have buoyed not just sports lovers across Australia but all those who have been doing it tough in a difficult time.
“Congratulations should also go to Paralympics Australia Chef de Mission Kate McLoughlin, Chief Executive Lynne Anderson and President Jock O’Callaghan for championing the Paralympic cause and helping to prepare such a strong and spirited team.”
Minister Colbeck said the Government was proud to have extended its support to Paralympic Australia ensuring its medal-winning athletes will receive bonus payments in line with the rewards paid to Olympic athletes.
“The one-off payments for medallists will be equivalent to those made by the Australian Olympic Committee to medal-winning Olympic athletes in Tokyo,” he said.
“This was an important step which compliments the ongoing funding ensuring our para-athletes can continue to make their mark internationally.”
He said the Morrison Government’s commitment to support para-athletes was reflected in this year’s Budget with direct funding injections of more than $3 million for 2021-22.
The boost for Paralympic competitors, across 13 sporting programs, marks a 40 per cent increase in funding since 2012 with 86 per cent of the Australian Paralympic team receiving direct grants from the AIS.
Minister Colbeck said it offers funding clarity and security for athletes looking ahead to the 2022 Winter Paralympics, the 2022 Commonwealth Games and ensures a springboard for those vying to represent Australia at the 2024 Paris Paralympics.
“The Morrison Government’s record core funding levels to support athletes builds on the recent investments to support wellbeing and pathways for young aspiring Paralympians,” he said.
Other funding includes:

• • $4m over two years from 2018-19 to construct new facilities for para-athletes at Paralympic Australia’s Victorian base at Essendon.
  • $310,370 over four years from 2018-19 for eligible Paralympic athletes who may have had their Disability Support Pension impacted as a result of training for events overseas; and
  • $1.5m to improve Australia’s capability in finding Australia’s best para-athletes to compete on the world stage.

Making sure women can live safely, free from violence and harassment, is not a new challenge. Throughout my lifetime, these issues have been making headlines.
Over time, I’ve seen our country make progress on women’s safety. We know so much more about abuse and how to support survivors thanks to a generation of women who have spoken out and pioneered change. Still, the events of the past year – and the brave and tireless advocacy we have witnessed – makes this particular moment feel full with potential, the sense we are living through a transformational time for Australia’s women.
Grace Tame, Brittany Higgins, and the women who came together in their thousands this year have inspired a national conversation about the treatment of women at home, at work and in our communities. But we have a long way to go, and we need federal leadership that is prepared, in both word and deed, to catalyse lasting change. That is why the National Summit on Women’s Safety this week is so important. The Prime Minister did not invite me to participate in the summit, and I didn’t seek to. Creating space for women to lead and to decide is imperative.
As a man and as a committed ally in this work, we need to listen and to amplify the voices of women. But we also need to join with them in action.
So I want to make my perspective clear: change is urgent. Almost one in four Australian women have experienced violence from an intimate partner. Each week an Australian woman is murdered by her current or former partner.
Participants in the summit do incredible work on the front lines of our domestic violence crisis. But they are stretched thin.
Nearly 10,000 women a year are turnedaway from shelters, 40 per cent of calls to women’s legal services last year went unanswered, and the ABS recorded nearly 100,000 victims of domestic violence in 2019. Services are crying out for back-up.
The outcome of this summit must be nothing short of a concrete commitment in funding and resources from this government, after eight long years of neglect – not more inaction from a Prime Minister who refused to even meet with the March 4 Justice protesters when they were on his doorstep.
Labor has already announced several policies for women escaping violent situations. Our focus is on providing women with the housing and economic support they need to establish a safe life.
No woman should have to choose between her job and leaving an abusive situation. That’s why Labor will establish 10 days of paid domestic violence leave, and allocate an additional 4000 units of social housing to women and children experiencing family violence and older women on lower incomes. In addition, we will provide $100 million for crisis and transitional housing.
We also need to recognise the battles women face – whether it be workplace harassment, pay inequities or everyday sexism.
Labor has fully embraced all 55 recommendations of the Respect@Work report, including the duty of employers to ensure workplaces are free of sexual harassment.
An Albanese Labor government will ensure there are Working Women’s Centres in every state and territory to provide free, confidential assistance on workplace matters, including sexual harassment and discrimination. We will also establish a one-stop shop within the Australian Human Rights Commission to assist victims of workplace sexual harassment.
Last week in Parliament the government finally responded to the Respect@Work report, adopting just six of the 55 recommendations. It was a tricky, half-hearted response to a powerful report.
Change is urgent, but not simple. Addressing women’s physical, emotional and economic safety and solving it for the long term will require some significant shifts.
Men need to step up. We must hold ourselves accountable and assess our institutions and actions to ensure higher standards.
That’s not going to be easy. Institutions I have loved my whole life – football, the church and yes, the Labor Party – are mostly run by men. We must provide an honest accounting of where we’ve failed.
Today, across this country, too many kids are watching their mums grapple with the harrowing cost of domestic abuse. Too many women are living with the fear, the anguish and the emotional and physical scars of an abusive encounter.
I hope the National Summit on Women’s Safety can be a turning point for this government, finally delivering long overdue change Australian women are calling for.

The Morrison Government is hosting the National Summit on Women’s Safety on 6 and 7 September which is the culmination of extensive consultations to develop the next National Plan to end violence against women and children.
The Summit will include keynote addresses, panel discussions and a series of roundtables focused on key issues affecting women’s safety including economic security and financial independence, perpetrator interventions, and responding to sexual violence.
Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Women Marise Payne said the Summit was an opportunity for a diverse range of people with lived experience, advocates, services providers, academics and other stakeholders to come together to inform the next National Plan.
“The Summit is an important step towards a future free from family and domestic violence and sexual assault in Australia,” Minister Payne said.
“I encourage every Australian to take part in this important national conversation, so together we can create change.”
Minister for Women’s Safety Anne Ruston said the key themes, issues and recommendations discussed by Summit delegates would be captured in a Summit Statement which would be released at the end of the two days.
“The Summit will further elevate the important national discussion we are having about women’s safety and ensure that we bring all people along with us as we develop the next National Plan,” Minister Ruston said.
“We are pleased to have Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Age Discrimination Commissioner Dr Kay Patterson, Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins, eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant and Our Watch ambassador Arman Abrahimzadeh among others joining us as speakers.”
All key panel discussions and presentations will be live streamed on 6 and 7 September via womenssafetysummit.com.au. Written submissions and feedback on the topics discussed at the Summit can be provided at engage.dss.gov.au/national-summit-on-womens-safety until 15 September 2021.

10 Head to Health pop up clinics will today open across Sydney and in the Central Coast and Illawarra providing additional mental health support for people living in New South Wales who have been substantially affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Morrison Government has invested $10.6 million to rapidly establish the clinics in Lakemba, Hurstville, Tuggerah, Kingswood, Thornleigh, Shellharbour, Blacktown, Parramatta, Bankstown and Liverpool to support those living in areas most affected by the NSW lockdown.
The clinics will include teams of mental health support workers, including psychologists, mental health nurses, mental health occupational therapists, social workers, and peer workers. They will offer video and phone supported mental health and assessment services, as well as COVID-safe face-to-face support where recommended by a clinician.
The pop up clinics will be further supported by a state-wide intake and assessment phone service, which will be staffed by clinicians and will provide a single entry point for people living across NSW to access a range of mental health services.
Minister for Health and Aged Care, Greg Hunt MP said mental health is a key part of Australia’s pandemic response and the current restrictions across the country were taking a toll on the mental health and wellbeing of Australians.
“We know people, particularly our young, are doing it really tough and the current outbreak is putting incredible stress and mental health pressure on many Australians. That is why we are prioritising mental health support and increase the availability of mental health services in some of those harder hit areas,” Minister Hunt said.
“The current lockdown is also having a huge impact on students preparing for their HSC. The clinics will provide vital access for year 11 and 12 students who are facing their final years of schooling and may need additional mental health support.”
Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, David Coleman MP, said the Government was doing everything possible to support Australians whose mental wellbeing was under stress.
“We recognise that support for people’s emotional wellbeing is critical in these extraordinary times, with loss of freedom, lack of personal contact, and work-related issues causing major distress and despair,” Assistant Minister Coleman said.
“These pop up clinics, established in record time, will be readily accessible and free and I am confident they will make a real difference for people impacted by the pandemic.”
The pop up clinics are using the same model of care as the 15 Head to Help clinics that were established in Victoria during their extended lockdown in 2020. These clinics have helped thousands of people, with more than 11,000 phone calls from people seeking support and more than 5,000 referrals to a clinic.
While the immediate focus of the NSW pop up clinics is on people in extended lockdown in Greater Sydney, they complement the Government’s plan to establish a national network of mental health treatment centres for adults, youth and children through the Head to Health and headspace programs.
As part of the 2021-22 Budget, the Government provided $487.2 million to establish 8 new Head to Health adult mental health centres and 24 satellite centres and provide ongoing funding for 8 existing centres.
The Morrison Government has also provided funding, in partnership with the NSW Government, for the $17.35 million ‘Lockdown Lifeline’ package for NSW, which is assisting mental health services like Lifeline, Kids Helpline, headspace and the Butterfly Foundation to increase their support.
The Government continues to make mental health a national priority, investing a record $2.3 billion in the 2021-22 Budget for the National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Plan to lead landmark reform of the mental health system. This includes a record $6.5 billion in mental health and suicide prevention services and supports in 2021-22, doubling since 2012-13.
The ‘Head to Health Pop Up’ clinics are located in existing primary care or community settings and will operate until 30 June 2022.
People seeking help will be able to call the dedicated number (1800 595 212), talk to a mental health professional and be triaged through this service and directed to the most appropriate care according to their individual needs.
More information on the NSW-wide phone service and clinic locations can be found at headtohealth.gov.au.
Australians looking for support throughout the COVID-19 pandemic can also access the Beyond Blue Coronavirus Wellbeing Support Service anytime via telephone at 1800 512 348 or online at coronavirus.beyondblue.org.au.
Anyone experiencing distress can seek immediate advice and support through Lifeline (13 11 14), Kids Helpline (1800 55 1800), or the Government’s digital mental health gateway, Head to Health (www.headtohealth.gov.au).
If you are concerned about suicide, living with someone who is considering suicide, or bereaved by suicide, the Suicide Call Back Service is available at 1300 659 467 or www.suicidecallbackservice.org.au.