Speech notes for address at launch event for the Family Violence Prevention Campaign. Michael Fowler Centre, Wellington.

Today we are launching the Campaign for Action on Family Violence – a four year campaign, led by the Families Commission and the Ministry of Social Development.

Over many years efforts to end family violence have been supported and promoted by many people – social workers, doctors, nurses, teachers, community agencies, and everyday Kiwis who care.

What we are launching today is the next step in our joint efforts. And it must be seen as an important one.

This campaign has been in development for some time now, and flows from the work of the Taskforce for Action on Violence within Families established in 2005. Recent events involving deaths of small children are a reminder of the continued urgency of our work, and they weigh heavily on the minds of us all. We are left shocked and appalled, when we read about acts of senseless violence perpetrated against defenceless children.

No New Zealander – from a parent, a police officer, a paediatrician or a Prime Minister – should have to say that such violent acts are not ok. But that is exactly what we now have to do.

The campaign we launch today has a simple message. Family violence is not ok. It is not ok at any level, from verbal abuse to violent assault.

In most cases, someone beyond the immediate family knows that violence is occurring. Yet too often a veil of silence lies over what is happening, putting vulnerable lives at risk.

Despite the progress made in moving family violence away from old perceptions that it was a private matter, there is more work to do to ensure that it is widely understood to be a community issue. And that means for all our communities, not just some of them. That is why this campaign is so important. We need to eliminate any remaining acceptance of violence which exists in New Zealand.

The simple message at the heart of this campaign is a reminder that none of us should ignore signs of family violence. We all have a responsibility to speak out against it. We must make it clear that it is not ok to hit your spouse or partner; it's not ok to verbally or physically abuse your children or an older family member; and it's not ok to take the life of anyone, let alone someone you are meant to care for.

But that is just the first step. Standing up and saying that family violence is not ok must be seen as a call for further action. We must accept that as New Zealanders, we have a collective responsibility to end family violence in our country. That means taking every possible and reasonable step we can to prevent and address specific cases of violence.

Those who commit violence should not be protected by friends, family, or neighbours. That is not loyalty. It is harbouring criminality. It is wrong. And doing so guarantees that violence persists.

We also need to challenge those in our families and communities who are violent towards their family members to seek help; to recognise that it is OK to admit that what they are doing is wrong; to recognise that it is hurting their family, their community and themselves; and to recognise that it is possible to make the change to non-violence.

At a community level, local leadership is crucial. The health and education sectors, and non-governmental organisations and religious organisations all have a role to play.

Government cannot do the job on its own, but we do accept the responsibility to lead and to co-ordinate. That’s why two years ago, we established the Taskforce for Action on Violence within Families. Its work led to this campaign. I thank all those senior representatives from government and non-governmental organisations who have driven this work.

Since the establishment of the Taskforce much has happened. Four new Family Violence Courts have been established, family violence co-ordinator positions have been created within the Police, and there is better information and access to legal aid for victims of family violence.

Across government, we are making a big effort to combat family violence:

• The Vulnerable Families initiative launched in the wake of the Kahui tragedy last year has already been involved with 79 families and over 200 children.
• An additional $9 million over four years was made available to the non-government organisations who support people who are affected by family violence.
• Last month, Health Minister Pete Hodgson launched the Health Family Violence Intervention Programme, which is focusing on providing practical advice and tools to the thousands of health professionals who come into daily contact with the impact of family violence.
• The seven iwi of Te Tai Tokerau have been funded to develop the Amokura project - a comprehensive community change initiative, which seeks to establish safe and secure whanau which are violence free.
• Funding of $8.6 million has been invested in providing 45 full time equivalent advocates nation wide to support children who witness violence in their homes. A professional infrastructure and a training package for the advocates has been developed.

Our work to reduce tolerance of family violence has already begun to pay off, with a significant increase in notifications to Child, Youth and Family. The biggest driver of this increase has been more collaboration between the Police and women's refuges after police have attended a family violence incident. This collaboration has enabled families to be connected with support and crisis services in their communities, and is a welcome sign that we are working well together across government and with the community sector.

Parliament has also taken an important step in the work against family violence by giving overwhelming support to the amendment to Section 59 of the Crimes Act earlier this year. The law as it stood had allowed too many people who had acted violently against their children to walk away without punishment. The so-called reasonable force defence had allowed that to happen. We now have better law – and that too sends strong signals about the unacceptability of family violence.

My government is determined to speak out against and act out against family violence. It is a stain on our country’s reputation.

We all want our country to be a great place to grow up in and a great place to raise a family in – and for most of us it is. But that isn’t good enough.

Too many women and too many people experience regular violence and abuse from their partners. Too many children have their self-esteem eroded by bullying. Too many older New Zealanders have their vulnerability taken advantage of by their caregivers and/or relatives.

And too many people – on average fourteen women, six men, and ten children every year – are dying because of family violence. One death is one too many.

None of that is ok. Working together, we can get that message across.

That’s what this campaign is about: providing the tools, the information, and the encouragement for all of us to play our part in ending family violence.

Starting on Sunday a series of powerful television advertisements will promote the ‘It’s not ok’ message. The ads will be shown following my speech.

In addition, an 0800 Family Violence Information Line will be available from next week to provide self-help information and connect people with services when appropriate.

The campaign website will become a valuable tool for community organisations and members of the public who want to play their part in ending family violence.

A Community Action Toolkit will be made available and will provide practical advice about how to organise community action against family violence.

The Community Action Fund is already providing financial support for community-led activities, recognising that local communities know what works best for them.

As the campaign progresses, an evaluation programme will let us know what is working well, what needs to be adjusted, and what additional efforts we might undertake. We know we need to get to this right, and we want to make sure the campaign is as effective as it can be.

We can already be certain of one thing. We would not be here today without the commitment of the people in this room and the people around New Zealand who are working to address and prevent family violence. And we can be certain that this campaign will succeed only with their continued dedication.

Thank you all for your support of this campaign and for your ongoing commitment to make New Zealand a better place, and a safer place, for all our families across our communities.