FAMILY AND DOMESTIC
VIOLENCE — KIMBERLEY
768. Ms D.G. D'ANNA to the Minister for Prevention
of Family and Domestic Violence:
I refer to the McGowan Labor
government's commitment to combating family and domestic violence. Can
the minister update the house on the McGowan Labor government's
significant investment in family and domestic violence services throughout Western
Australia, including culturally sensitive and trauma-informed services?
Ms S.F.
McGURK replied:
I can. I am really pleased to answer
this question. I was in the Kimberley recently, specifically Fitzroy Crossing and Derby, to meet with a number of stakeholders
about not only combating domestic violence, but also community services.
It was great to see the work being done in those areas. We know that although
resources and focus are important, both of which this government is bringing to
its efforts to combat family violence, local capacity is also essential—building
up local organisations that can deliver the services and be leaders in their
own communities to really start to get in front of high levels of domestic
violence in our community.
I was particularly pleased to visit
the Marninwarntikura Women's Resource Centre in Fitzroy Crossing, which
was given a Lotterywest grant of $736 000. The people there were very grateful
for that three-quarters of a million dollars of Lotterywest money. That service
has been supporting women to heal from family and domestic violence and trauma
for over 30 years. I think anyone who has had anything to do with Emily Carter
and the organisation that she leads would
agree that it is deserving of this grant. The grant will enable them to
refurbish the centre, create an outdoor community space and purchase two
new vehicles to support local families across the valley. I would like to
particularly acknowledge Emily Carter, the CEO of the centre, for her fierce advocacy
in keeping women, children and families safe
in Fitzroy Crossing. I was able to hear from the organisation about a number of
researchers it has embedded in the
service to work on understanding trauma and young people affected by foetal
alcohol spectrum disorder, and how we
can better support them and understand some of the challenges that they face in
their community. I also had the opportunity to meet with June Oscar, AO,
the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner in this country,
who is another tireless advocate for promoting the rights of Aboriginal women
and girls in the Kimberley. I was proud to stand beside these women who are
taking action to make a real difference. They are leading their community, and
we thank them for it.
Now in my fifth year as Minister for
Prevention of Family and Domestic Violence, I understand we need a breadth of responses to keep everyone in our community
safe, from providing crisis accommodation to keeping perpetrators accountable and, most importantly, helping
families heal. To this end, during my visit I also met with the Men's
Outreach Service Aboriginal Corporation in the Kimberley, which the
McGowan government has funded to provide its Change Em Ways program in Fitzroy
Crossing and surrounding communities. I met some of the program leaders, who
have a cohort of men doing the perpetrator program that they are delivering in
other parts of the Kimberley, but in this case it was early days for the
Fitzroy Crossing program. They support men and their families heal from past
trauma and better understand emotions, and challenge them about using violence
as a response. This program was funded as part of the $2.8 million Addressing
Family Violence in the Kimberley grants program. We heard from the community
that it wanted some of those grants, which we have provided in past years, to
go to Aboriginal community controlled
organisations in the community. While I was in Derby, I visited the Emama Nguda
Aboriginal Corporation, which is partnering with Anglicare to provide a Derby
family violence service that is integrated with wraparound supports for
families in Derby and the Mowanjum community. That is in its early stages but,
again, we are starting to see the partnerships between traditional community organisations
and Aboriginal organisations that want to
build up their capacity and use their cultural knowledge and cultural
credibility to provide good outcomes. Overall, since 2017, the McGowan
government has invested over $120 million in past and future commitments to
prevent and respond to domestic violence, and our efforts to support
communities across the state will continue into this term.