SAFER PATHWAYS PROGRAM
134. Ms M.J. HAMMAT to the Minister for Prevention of Family
and Domestic Violence:
I refer to the McGowan Labor
government's ongoing commitment to combating family and domestic
violence and keeping Western Australians safe.
(1) Can the
minister outline to the house how the government's investment in the
Safer Pathways program will provide additional support to women experiencing
family and domestic violence?
(2) Can the
minister advise the house how this expansion will provide more women and
children with a safe and secure home?
Ms S.F.
McGURK replied:
I thank the member for the question.
I know she is interested and, in fact, passionate about this particular area,
as she is about her electorate.
(1)–(2) It was with great pleasure that I attended in
Midland—in your electorate, Madam Speaker—for an expansion
of the program that the member referred to. The Safer Pathways program is an
election commitment that we made in 2021. It is to make sure that women who are
experiencing domestic violence, and often also their children, have
alternatives to seek safety and security. They may decide to go to a refuge,
but if they want to stay in their house or accommodation and it is safe for
them to do so, this is one of the programs that
is available to support them. It helps to make sure that they are not only
safe, but also able to deal with the issues that often co-contribute to
challenging situations in their houses that sometimes mean that they are not
able to maintain their tenancies.
This is a $1.65 million expansion of
the Safer Pathways program that is being run by Zonta House. The program
currently operates in Cannington and Victoria Park and has been incredibly
successful. In the lead-up to the 2021
election, we committed to expand that program to Mirrabooka, member, and to
Midland as well. As a result of this funding, 187 more women will be
able to be supported each year. That is a huge number. It is testament to not
only Zonta House and the staff who run this program, but also its ability to cooperate with other organisations, including
government agencies like the housing staff at the Department of
Communities. I met the head of housing at Midland when I went out to make the
announcement and congratulate the Zonta House staff. The housing officer
manager, Richard, said that it was really good to be able to support women to
stay stable in their accommodation, because if they have been subjected to
domestic violence and are forced to leave their house, it causes all sorts of
knock-on effects that are very challenging for him and his staff. There are a whole
lot of reasons to support that model and to be able to give women some
alternatives, as I said, when they are looking at keeping themselves and their
children safe. I would like to particularly acknowledge Zonta House and its
CEO, Kelda Oppermann, and the other staff
who were involved. When we were out there, it was really good to see that they
are doing a great job.
Can I emphasise that this government
is getting on with doing the work that the Western Australian public expects us to do, and in particular what Western Australian
women expect of us. That is to not only provide resources to ensure that
women are safe wherever they are, whether that is in their home, whether that
is in their workplace or whether it is on the street at night, but also look at
innovation. We are looking at evidence-based
approaches to make sure that the best laws available are in place and that we
have a modern and responsive justice
system. We are cooperating across government agencies and with the non-government
sector as well. We are talking to people
with lived experience so that we understand what their requirements are.
We have put record investment, over $126 million of new funding, into combating
domestic violence. Most of all, we have taken an approach of both focus and
cooperation across government agencies, and that is something I am very proud
of.
The SPEAKER: The Deputy
Leader of the Opposition with the last question. Given the time, I will not
allow a supplementary and I ask the minister to respond briefly.