Rosie Batty, Australian of the Year, will save lives of family violence victims, former police commissioner Ken Lay says
Australian of the Year Rosie Batty has saved lives and will continue to save more in her fight against family violence, former Victorian police chief Ken Lay says.
Ms Batty became one of the key voices calling for action on domestic violence after her 11-year-old son, Luke, was murdered by his father at a cricket ground on the outskirts of Melbourne last year.
Mr Lay, who was a strong supporter of Ms Batty's push against domestic violence, said her determination for change was the catalyst for the upcoming Royal Commission into Family Violence.
"When someone like Rosie can look down the barrel of a camera and act with the dignity she did but also share the enormous pain that she was going though, governments needed to sit up and take notice," he said.
"I've got no doubt at all that Rosie Batty can look at the royal commission as one her legacies."
The day after Luke's death, Ms Batty took questions from journalists and used the occasion to highlight the family violence issue.
Mr Lay said that interview resonated across Australia sparking almost immediate change within Victoria Police and government agencies.
"When you start getting the amount of momentum that Rosie has driven, I've got no doubt at all that women and children are alive today because of her legacy," he said.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews also paid tribute to the new Australian of the Year, saying Ms Batty had changed the way Australian thought about family violence.
"That her experience was common, not unique, is perhaps the greatest tragedy of all," he said.
"Too many women and children are victims of this silent crime, and she speaks for those who can't speak anymore.
"To have listened to her and learnt from her remains one of the greatest privileges of my professional life."
Rosie Batty 'compelled to speak from heart' after Luke's death
At an inquest into Luke's death senior police apologised to Ms Batty and vowed to change the "one-size-fits-all" approach to tackling family violence.
Ms Batty said she never planned to become a family violence crusader and that it just came from the heart when she first started speaking to the media after her son's death.
"There clearly was that need to say 'this is what's happening, this is what's happened to me'. I live in a nice house, in a nice neighbourhood, and this can this can happen to anybody," she told ABC News Breakfast.
"I was compelled at that moment to speak from the heart but what came out wasn't premeditated."
Ms Batty said the willingness of police, in particular Mr Lay, to listen to her and make changes had been comforting as she dealt with Luke's death.
"It's given me huge confidence going forward that I am on the right track, my voice is being heard," she said.
"[Ken Lay] started this, it wasn't the politicians. Understanding this is a gender issue."
The Australian of the Year said she wanted to use her new title to push for a government-funded public awareness campaign on domestic violence, akin to Australia's road safety campaign.
