A Coalition government would criminalise the use of mobile phones to threaten and track partners and create a national register to allow police to share information about violence offenders, as part of a suite of measures to combat domestic abuse.
The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, will on Thursday announce a $90m package that seeks to build on the 10-year national plan to end violence against women and children.
“As a former police officer who attended numerous domestic violence call-outs, I know the lifelong impact of these horrific crimes,” Dutton said.
“A government I lead will be focused on delivering real change so that families, women and children are safer and we end family and domestic violence.”
Until this week, domestic violence had barely rated a mention during the federal election campaign, despite an epidemic of violence against women.
Last year, the scale of the emergency prompted the national cabinet to agree on a $4.7bn investment to tackle the problem.
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With Anthony Albanese promising to go further if elected on 3 May, Labor on Tuesday announced several “practical” measures targeted at perpetrators, including $8.6m for ankle bracelets on high-risk offenders, behaviour change programs and early intervention for young people.
The Coalition has matched the $8.6m commitment and proposed a raft of other measures, and has accused Labor of a “lack of urgency” in responding to the crisis.
In its 14-point plan, a Dutton government would introduce a national domestic violence register that allows police and relevant agencies to access and share information about a person’s prior convictions to help prevent more offending.
It would also push to criminalise the use of mobile phones and computer networks to cause a partner or family member to fear for their safety, or to track them using spyware.
The Coalition wants “tough” bail laws to apply to the offences, although it is unclear how it would implement them, given such laws typically fall under the remit of states and territories.
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The opposition had also vowed to “strengthen” the commonwealth tax, superannuation and welfare systems to stamp out financial abuse.
The plan also reaffirmed the Coalition’s commitment to hold a royal commission into allegations of sexual abuse in Indigenous communities – a proposal widely opposed by First Nations advocacy groups.
The domestic violence package came three days after Dutton announced a $750m plan to crack down on “drugs and thugs”, signalling a shift from the Coalition to crime-based issues in the final two weeks of the campaign.
“As a Coalition, we know violence can be at the end of a chain of events across someone’s life,” the shadow minister for women, Sussan Ley, said.
“And we know that with the right decisions and the right interventions we can break the cycle and save victim-survivors not only from the most extreme end of violence, but also from disrespectful behaviour and coercion.
“If we get this right our society will be a safer, happier and healthier place.”
