Tuesday, 30 April 2024
Questions without notice and ministers statements
Family violence
Family violence
John PESUTTO (Hawthorn – Leader of the Opposition) (14:09): My question is to the Premier. In 2022 the federal government allocated $220 million to the states to fund 500 new frontline workers who would provide support to women and children experiencing family, domestic and sexual violence. In March this year it was revealed that only 17 of the 500 are employed across the entire country. How many funded positions in Victoria remain unfilled?
Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:09): I thank the leader of his opposition for his question because it does give us the opportunity to discuss the huge amount of work that has been going on here in Victoria, a huge amount of work that did not start in 2022. It started way back in 2014 when, from opposition, we committed to holding Australia’s first-ever royal commission into family violence following the tragic murder of Rosie Batty’s son at the hands of his father. Since then, we came to government, we held that royal commission, we received that royal commission report and all 227 of its recommendations are being implemented and continue to be implemented. We have invested $3.6 billion over that period of time, implementing system reform, strengthening support for women and children who are experiencing the horrors of family and domestic violence and strengthening the police response and resources as well.
James Newbury: On a point of order, Speaker, on relevance, this question related to the government sitting on funding for frontline workers that have not yet been employed, and I would ask you to bring the Premier back to that specific question.
Mary-Anne Thomas: On the point of order, Speaker, there is no point of order. The Premier was being relevant to the question, which asked about investment in family violence.
The SPEAKER: The question referred to women and children experiencing family, domestic and sexual violence. I believe the Premier was being relevant and was giving some background to the answer to the question.
Jacinta ALLAN: I am giving this background because it is not background, it is fact. It is reality, and it is the lived experience of too many women and children.
Members interjecting.
Jacinta ALLAN: I hope I do not have to raise my voice to answer this sort of question. I really hope that this would be the sort of question that is given some respect in terms of the conduct of this chamber, because I was about to say, member for Polwarth, too many women and children continue to experience the horrors of family violence. That is why I want to acknowledge the work of the organisations that deal with this every single day, the Victoria Police officers who respond to this every single day, the teachers in our schools who are supporting prevention and resilience-building programs –
John Pesutto: On a point of order, Speaker, on relevance, the question was specific to the 500 positions. Can you draw the Premier back to answering how many of those positions remain unfilled in Victoria?
The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Polwarth can leave the chamber for half an hour.
Member for Polwarth withdrew from chamber.
The SPEAKER: The Premier was being relevant to the question that was asked. I cannot direct the Premier how to respond to your question, but she is being relevant.
Jacinta ALLAN: And I say this because the huge amount of investment that we have made, the huge amount of work that is going on by those agencies and organisations, does demand an acknowledgement but also a continued response as to how we can build on that foundation, and it does include the recruitment that is going on right now for those workers that the Leader of the Opposition refers to. It does include the work that I have asked the Minister for Women, the Minister for Prevention of Family Violence and the Attorney-General to look at on what more we can do as a state, because we have done so much but there is still so much more to do, because every four days a woman is killed in this country. It is happening too often. We know we need to take further action in this state. That is exactly what we are doing, and it does include the utilisation of the resources that have come from the federal government – I should note, a Federal Labor government which has made this investment.
John PESUTTO (Hawthorn – Leader of the Opposition) (14:14): When will the state Labor government employ our share of the 500 new frontline workers funded by the federal government in 2022?
Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:14): In answering this question I refer back to the work that we have done in the building up of this sector since we held the royal commission, a royal commission that was described by some as a lawyers’ picnic, described by some –
Jacinta ALLAN: Liberal Party people, Leader of the House. The Liberal Party described it as a lawyers’ picnic. We ourselves as a result of that work –
John Pesutto: On a point of order, Speaker, on relevance, can you draw the Premier back to the question?
The SPEAKER: I ask the Premier to come back to the question.
Jacinta ALLAN: I was about to say that as a consequence of that royal commission and that work and that $3.6 billion of investment, which others have described as a lawyers’ picnic, we have ourselves increased the workforce by 2000 people – 2000 additional people – and we are working to add to that with the investment that has been provided by a federal Labor government, who have joined with us. That is why I am looking forward tomorrow to the opportunity to work with the federal Labor Prime Minister and other state and territory leaders as a national cabinet to work together to address this critical national crisis.