FAMILY AND DOMESTIC
VIOLENCE — DVASSIST
842. Ms L. METTAM to the Minister for Prevention of Family
and Domestic Violence:
I
refer to the role that the statewide regional domestic violence helpline
DVassist has provided in supporting 33 local government communities across regional WA and the fact that people in regional
WA are three times more likely to be exposed to family and domestic
violence. Will the minister commit to working with the organisation ahead of
the next state budget to ensure that it can continue its critical work across
the state, particularly in the regions?
Ms S.F.
McGURK replied:
I
am pleased that the member has asked me a question about domestic violence,
because it was pointed out to me just recently
that of the 50 media statements that the member for Vasse has put out through
the Leader of the Opposition's office since the election, not a single
one to date has been about family and domestic violence.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER: Order, please.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER: Order, please.
That is not an invitation for others to comment.
Ms S.F. McGURK: On the eve of
our 16 Days in WA campaign, I thank members who have donned their badges early
for the campaign that commences tomorrow. This is a community-led campaign that
says that everyone has a role to play in
understanding the extent of violence against women and calling it out, so I thank
members in advance for their support of that campaign.
With
regard to the McGowan government's focus on and record investment in
addressing domestic violence, I stand very, very proud of the work that
we have done—the focus, determination and cooperation across
portfolios. There has been significant and nation-leading law reform in concert
with the Attorney General and there is the perinatal screening that is
occurring in health. I was at the North Metropolitan Health Service just a few
weeks ago to announce its protocols in screening not only staff, but also
patients, for domestic violence. In education, we have the Respectful
Relationships program through schools. With Housing, we are prioritising and
making sure that women experiencing domestic violence are able to get into
housing. Also, of course, there will be amendments to the Residential Tenancies
Act. When I look across the portfolios of government, every other minister and every
other government department has worked in cooperation to make sure that this is
a whole-of-government effort. The Minister for Police just pointed out how the
firearm prohibition amendments before the house now will benefit and make sure
that anyone who is identified as a perpetrator of domestic violence or a risk
will no longer be able to hold a firearm licence. The dollars, also, have been
significant in regard to the effort by this government. I can talk across any
range of initiatives that we have put in place.
The program the member asked about
is called DVassist and was funded by the federal government. I think it was coordinated by the federal member of Parliament
Nola Marino, who organised some federal funding for that program, which was initially led by an Esperance woman with
lived experience. I made it very clear to the woman who initiated that
program, and to the organisers since, that this program is not in our budget
agenda. We committed, in the last election, to fund two new women's
refuges and since building those refuges we have committed to double their
capacity under the COVID recovery money. We have funded two new hubs. I have
outlined all the other initiatives that we
have put in place, so I have made it very clear to DVassist that it is not
something that we are able to fund—we are able to step up when
the federal government puts money into an initiative and steps away and expects
that the state government can pick up the
tab. We cannot do that. We cannot keep stepping up when the federal government
makes initial funding and then steps away. It did it with Safe at Home.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER: Order, please!
Ms
S.F. McGURK: It did it with
Keeping Women Safe in Their Homes a couple of years ago, which is an important
program in which women and children are
prioritised to stay in their homes. The federal government pulled funding
out of that and we had to step up and plug the gaps.
I have met with DVassist a number of
times and I have made no criticism of the work that it is doing, but we cannot
continue to step up when the federal government pulls out of its funding
commitments in this state.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER: Order, please!