FAMILY AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE — ABORIGINAL
COMMUNITIES
1283. Hon ROBIN SCOTT to the Leader of the House representing
the Minister for Prevention of Family and Domestic Violence:
I refer to the tragic death of a 54-year-old
woman in the remote Aboriginal community of Wanarn on Monday and reports that
she died as a result of family violence at the hands of her abusive partner.
(1) Does the
McGowan government have any plans to repurpose the three-quarters of a billion
dollars to be spent on enhancing Aboriginal wellbeing to tackle family violence
and alcohol abuse?
(2) Does the
government stand by its policy of avoiding intervention and instead, and I quote,
will ''build the resilience and capacity of Aboriginal communities
through a partnership model''?
Hon SUE
ELLERY replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question.
(1) This
government has consistently demonstrated its commitment to tackling family
violence, starting with the appointment of Western Australia's first
Minister for Prevention of Family and Domestic Violence. As part of the WA
recovery plan, the McGowan government has invested around $23 million to
address family and domestic violence, in a package
that will employ additional domestic violence outreach workers across Western
Australia and significantly strengthen responses to police call-outs. This COVID-19
response comes on top of more than $50 million in additional investment by the
McGowan government to keep family and domestic violence victims safe and hold
perpetrators to account.
(2) The
government stands by its policy positions in relation to both the prevention of
family and domestic violence and working with Aboriginal communities.