"I couldn't believe what was coming out of their mouths" - The criminologist who lectured our politicians on saving women's lives
When Dr Vincent Hurley sat in the audience of the ABC’s Q+A program on Monday 29th April, the last thing he expected was to deliver a speech that would go viral on social media.
As the former NSW detective and criminologist from Macquarie University listened to federal agriculture minister Murray Watt, Nationals Senate leader Bridget McKenzie, and NSW Opposition leader Mark Speakman debate how the government should respond to the series of deaths linked to
domestic and family violence, his frustration began to simmer.
“I couldn’t believe what was coming out of their mouths.
“We were there to address a national emergency that is taking the lives of Australian women and
children, and all these politicians could do is bicker amongst each other,” Dr Hurley says.
By the time Q+A host Patricia Karvelas turned to Dr Hurley, his rage boiled over into a passionate plea calling on our politicians to act immediately on domestic violence.
In his now infamous speech, Dr Hurley told the panel “For God's sake, how long do we have to listen to politicians like you.
“One woman is murdered every four days, and all you can do is immediately talk about politics?
“That is just disgraceful.”
Upon reflection, Dr Hurley is blown away by the response his speech has garnered online with clips on social media reaching millions of views in a matter of days.
“My only regret is that I didn’t give them a bigger blast.
“These are the people elected to allocate money and govern to make our society a better place, yet when it comes down to it, they cannot put aside politics to implement solutions that could actually benefit the community,” Dr Hurley said.
As thousands of Australians have taken to the streets to rally against domestic violence, Dr Hurley believes more needs to be done to support survivors of domestic violence.
“This is a problem that’s far bigger than the police.
“I’ve gotten hundreds of emails over the last couple of days, a quarter of which are from men who support what I said and want societal change to address this crisis.”
With the 2024-25 budget on the horizon, all eyes are on the federal government to increase funding to support those working on the frontlines of the domestic violence crisis.
The Albanese government has allocated $925 million for the Leaving Violence Program commencing in July 2025 and further funding for trauma-informed local outreach healthcare, among a suite of increased funding in the sector.
“What I really want is for the mindset of our politicians to change,” says Dr Hurley.
“This is something bigger than politics and to save the lives of our women and children we need our
leaders to step up and bring tangible action now.”
If you or anyone you know requires call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732, text 0458 737 732 or visit 1800RESPECT.org.au for online chat and video call services.
