Australia news live: national cabinet agrees on $4.7bn plan to address family violence; Victoria police considering further action over CFMEU allegations | Australia news

Questioning has now wrapped up, following the national cabinet meeting.

The PM was asked about “anti-feminist” and toxic masculinity ideals growing online amongst men.

Responding, he seemed to reference Andrew Tate:

I don’t want to give him a free ad but there is one person in particular. It was quite horrific and the figures I was briefed on week, of how many Australians have seen a prominent European advocate for what is misogynistic behaviour.

It is something that we are very conscious of, it is something that government alone can’t do, it is something that parents are concerned about, something the media have a responsibility for, a role to play as well in not giving prominence to some of those issues as well…

It’s not just an individual. Of course we know that this is a scourge and it is one of the things that the eSafety commissioner is very conscious of.

Our own Paul Karp asked whether any of the premier’s raised the rapid review’s call for a total ban on gambling advertising during today’s national cabinet?

Anthony Albanese said the government is “working through” its position on gambling.

At the Commonwealth level with regard to gambling, as you would be aware, there has been a range of measures that my government has undertaken in our first two years… including the registration of people being able to register and therefore be barred from participation, the changes that we have done in terms of advertising already, the messages that are at the bottom there – changing it from just gambling responsibility to more coherent messages that make it clear that if you do gamble you will lose…

Karp asked if there was a plan for a total ban, but the PM moved on to the next question.

PM flags potential focus on social media on normalising objectionable behaviour

The prime minister was asked about the spread of misogyny in schools, and how great this concern is? Anthony Albanese responded:

It is, and we discussed both informally and formally the impact of social media. I think there will be some things happening soon in that area as well that we discussed, that states and territories have undertaken.

We think that needs to be very much a focus and certainly in the work that both the commonwealth is doing- the last meeting for example we identified pornography and violent videos and the impact it was having on normalising objectionable behaviour as a minimum but horrific crime at an extreme. That is something that we will continue to work through. I know our security agencies are continuing to do that.

Albanese: funding provides certainty to frontline organisations

Q: What do you say to organisations that do not have the funds right now to help women that are having to turn families away?

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, responded:

We are providing that certainty going forward. We are providing the funding as part of the five-year agreement that will commence next financial year, and what those legal services will benefit from is the certainty of knowing what is coming as they go forward.

As the PM fielded questions from reporters, he said he was “deliberately going to women [reporters] before men” as the questions roll in.

A reporter asked about the impact of alcohol on domestic violence rates, and a recommendation from the rapid review that there be restrictions on the delivery of alcohol.

The leaders were asked if they would implement this?

The NSW premier Chris Minns said:

We have all agreed as for this communique to review our alcohol laws and come back to the National Cabinet.

Everybody is at different stages, somehow responsible service of alcohol provisions in place … and some have restrictions on opening hours and trading hours, days of the week, so we are all the different places.

But I think that review will see what works in other jurisdictions and like a good federation, we will steal what works and apply it to our own area.

Circling back to the national cabinet press conference

Just a moment ago, the NSW premier, Chris Minns, said NSW had higher rates of domestic violence than Victoria and there could be things to learn from the state. Victoria’s premier, Jacinta Allan, was then asked to suggest what programs are working in the state that could be applied across other jurisdictions.

She said the state held a royal commission into the matter in 2016 which identified the government had to “drive … not system change, but how to build a system”:

Because particularly for women and children experiencing family violence, there was not a system there [that] wrapped [its] arms around women and children and kept them as the centre of the system of focus but also held the perpetrator in view as well.

She said that what has driven outcomes – although “there is still a long way to go” – is data sharing:

All these agencies say that data about the woman and her circumstances [is important]… but also too, the other big change Victoria has been the focus on prevention. We’ve got to do more to stop the violence before it starts …

Victoria police considering further action on allegations against CFMEU

Adeshola Ore

PM clarifies funding for legal services

The PM was asked about the funding for legal services, and asked if it was specifically for specialist women’s legal services or would it be given to community legal services more broadly? Anthony Albanese said it includes funding for three things:

… three things on top of where the previous agreement was. One is indexation and a higher rate of indexation, the second is dealing with pay parity and then on top of that, an additional $500m as well which will be particularly for women needing those legal services, that will be managed through the states and territories [who] will have oversight in the way these things work. They are in the best position to determine where the funding needs are …

The PM said there would be increased funding for specialist women’s services but “what we did not do today was identify there will be this dollar going to this legal service in this suburb.”