Press Conference - 23 September 2026

Melissa McIntosh MP 
Shadow Minister for Social Services and Families

Shadow Minister for the NDIS
Shadow Minister for Women 
Federal Member for Lindsay 

23 September 2026

Transcript 

Press Conference

Topics: Domestic violence, cost-of living

E&EO … 

Martin Beckett:

Hi, my name's Martin Beckett, I'm CEO of Christ Mission Possible. We're out here in Penrith with Melissa today and I'd like to welcome you to the site. We're here to talk about domestic violence and what's been happening over the weekend and what's been happening around our state. We currently at Christ Mission Possible do a large amount of food relief, but we also do a large amount of housing in the area. I was sharing with Melissa earlier that in our housing we have a large amount of families. Of those families, about 40 families that could be in our accommodation every night, about 60%, 50 -60% of those would be mothers, with children or without children escaping domestic violence. So, it's a big need in the community and we'd love to see the government's support for that continuing.

Melissa McIntosh:

Thank you. Thanks Marty and I'm here at Christ Mission Possible in Penrith and Marty and his team does tremendous work, and I would like to give a shout out to all the frontline services across our nation. You do such a wonderful job and you are so needed and as Marty said, of the 40 or so people that come through his service every night, up to 60% of those are escaping family and domestic violence. We heard just over the weekend there were three more women and a child murdered and it feels like the media cycle has moved on, but we're not going to move on because each death is one death too many. And I said in Parliament just the other week when I was speaking about Molly Ticehurst - How are we going to keep the next Molly safe? Well, we haven't kept the next Molly safe because three women were murdered just over this weekend in New South Wales. We tell a woman to leave a violent relationship. We tell her to leave her home, to leave her partner, to take the kids. But when she does have the courage to leave, do we as a nation have the courage to give her somewhere safe to go? And I think the answer right now is no, we don't. We don't have that courage, and there are so many good people across this nation wanting to do the right thing by women and children. Yet the results themselves, another three murders over the weekend, and a child, show that the system is absolutely broken. With all the good intention, with all the good work, the system itself is broken. Chris Minns, the Premier of New South Wales, as well as the police, have warned that during footy finals, whatever they may be, there's a surge in domestic and family violence incidents. This is just the facts. We know it is coming. So, if we know a surge is about to come, what are we doing about it as a nation? So, this is my proposition today and I would like this to be bipartisan. I think if we know how to deal with oncoming crises, bushfires, floods. We are prepared for a pandemic. Why aren't we prepared for what is now declared as a national crisis when it comes to women and children's safety? We should have a women and children's safety shield, protecting the women and children of this nation. And in that, we should have a women and children's safety war room, really, a coordination centre. We should have all the technology available, just like we do, that very technology that prepares our nation for a disaster, where we test scenarios, where we have data being inputted because we know by the government's own national plan to end violence against women and children that there are huge gaps in data. In the adequacy of the data. In the use of the data. If we can do this for national crises, why can't we do it for this crises? Ensure that everything is tested and tested again. Input those cases that have already occurred, look at where the beds are and where they're not and where they are needed. We should be throwing everything at this. So, I invite the government to join with the Coalition. I think this is a common sense approach to have this national coordination just like how we prepare for national disasters. And I invite the tech companies to come on board as well. The tech companies are often accused of causing harm to women and children. Well, now the tech companies can be part of the solution. It should be common sense. It can be done. Let's make sure that the data supports women and children so we don't continue to have more deaths, like we did over the weekend and let's keep this on the national agenda. Molly Ticehurst, 28 years old, killed by her partner who was out on bail and every other woman across this nation who has experienced domestic and family violence and their children deserve no more than our absolute attention. We need to give it to them. Thank you so much. Any questions?

Journalist:

I've got a couple of questions on a different matter, but I want to just start with what you've just proposed. the National Coordination Centre idea you've just flagged, have you had a chance to speak with the government about the idea yet?

Melissa McIntosh:

No I haven't. I'm in New South Wales and I was so outraged as a woman, first and foremost, that over the weekend that three more women have been murdered, and I speak to Marty who is here with me and he's on the front line. I speak to him very, very often and I thought, well, this happens all the time when it comes to natural disasters and we are prepared as a nation, the technology is there, why aren't we applying this across to keeping women and children safe? So, this is not an accusation of government not doing enough. We are bipartisan often in our approach to domestic and family violence, but that doesn't mean that we need to be bipartisan in failure. This is an idea that I'd like to work with the government on. I said to the Prime Minister that the Coalition is willing to work with them on every potential solution, because we can't have this keep happening and we've been warned. We know there's a surge coming so if you know there's a potential bushfire season what do you do? The country prepares. We've been told by the police, we've been told by state premiers that there's potentially going to be a surge in domestic and family violence. We need to act and we need to act now not when we have another molly that we've let down.

Journalist:

Apologies to do this when it's such a serious matter, but on another issue loosely related to your Shadow Portfolio, the Parenthood's Georgie Dent is addressing the National Press Club later today. She's found, analysis has found that the cost of raising a child has risen by over 100% for so many parents across the country. Obviously early childhood education is an important policy area, but we're sort of unclear what Coalition's approach is or policy. Can you shine more of a light on that?

Melissa McIntosh:

I guess it's not being unclear, it's around ensuring that we get our policies right and I'm standing here and you're on the phone but I'm standing here with a gentleman who looks after more and more families every day because of cost of living and that is part of the puzzle but when families on double incomes are lining up at this food services organisation, Christ Mission Possible here in Penrith, it is bigger than that particular issue. People are deciding whether to put food on the table or whether to put a roof over their heads right now. Early childhood education is very important. We have childcare deserts out here in Western Sydney, people having to commute out of the area for a good job but then getting back late and the decision about, well, do I go into the city for a job or do I look after my kids? I can't get there by 6pm when the centre closes. So, these are big, complex issues that the Coalition is looking into as we form our families policy. And you're right, I do have the, I am the Shadow Minister for Families as well. We need to look at the tax payments system, we need to look at housing and we need to look at good jobs close to home and of course we need to have childcare and childcare choice because childcare centres, as great as they are, my kids were in childcare, but they're not for every family.

Journalist:

Thank you so much.

Melissa McIntosh:

Thank you. Any other questions?

Journalist:

If in government today, what are any changes would you be pushing forward?

Melissa McIntosh:

Thank you. That question was if we were in government today, what changes would we be pushing for? I think this focus that I've just presented today, which is practical, it's common sense around having a women and children’s safety shield, this mechanism that acts very much like a coordination centre, like what we have in times of crisis to prepare the nation, particularly when it comes to surges that we know that are going to happen. But that means that we need to have the data. We need to have consistency across organisations. Marty was telling me about that, he could have a bed for a woman tonight, but some other, he doesn't know what other organisations are doing. It's only because of their great connection. locally so we need to have a better coordinated approach better use of data across this country and as I said I'd like to this not just to be a government solution, I call on the tech companies to get involved and help us, because it is a national crisis and there is a strong sense of urgency when we've just had another three women killed only this weekend in New South Wales.