Tuesday, 30 April 2024

Stalking law reform

Michael O’BRIEN (Malvern) (14:17): My question is to the Premier. The Victorian Law Reform Commission presented its report on stalking and harassment to the Labor government in June 2022. Premier, after nearly two years, why has the government failed to respond let alone act on this report?

Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:18): I thank the member for Malvern for his question, and I will correct the member for Malvern. He is incorrect to say that we have not responded. We have, and the Attorney-General has spoken to this publicly on a number of occasions in terms of the work she is doing since receiving the law reform commission’s report – the work that she is doing to consider how we as a government can better protect victims of stalking, because we know this is an area where there needs to be further reform. It is an example –

Michael O’Brien: On a point of order, Speaker, the Premier’s answer needs to be factual. The Premier has stated that the Attorney-General has responded. There are 45 recommendations. There has not been a government response, so I would urge you to bring the Premier back to answering the question in a factual way.

The SPEAKER: The Premier was responding. I cannot determine the factualness or otherwise of that response.

Jacinta ALLAN: If it would assist, because clearly the member for Malvern needs to be assisted, what I was saying earlier is that the Attorney-General has already publicly stated she is working through how the government responds to the law reform commission’s work. So let us not make this political. Let us –

Members interjecting.

Jacinta ALLAN: As I said in my earlier answer, four women a week are dying at the hand of a current or former partner and I would hope that this would be, of all the debates we have in this place, a debate that could be founded on respect.

Roma Britnell interjected.

The SPEAKER: The member for South-West Coast will leave the chamber for half an hour.

Member for South-West Coast withdrew from chamber.

Jacinta ALLAN: At the heart of what is happening here is we are seeing, as a consequence of instances where women are not respected, too many women are dying. That is what happens when you do not respect women, when you do not teach young boys about what it looks like to not respect women. This is the work that the Attorney-General is doing to lead the government’s response to the law reform commission’s report to work through this complex area. Following the royal commission, following the implementation of significant reforms, it is an example of an area where we know that there is further work to be done and that the law and justice system needs to continue to respond and look at how it can continue to be strengthened to support in this instance where women have been harmed and killed as a consequence of stalking. This work is ongoing and is part of the work that the Attorney-General, with the Minister for Women and the Minister for Prevention of Family Violence, is working on right now. Our work did not begin and end with the royal commission. We have a Minister for Prevention of Family Violence who every single day is working on this area, and that is why we remain committed to looking at ongoing reform that includes in the area of stalking.

Michael O’BRIEN (Malvern) (14:21): The law reform commission’s report contains 45 important recommendations to make Victorians and particularly Victorian women safer from stalking and harassment. Given the government has been reading this report for nearly two years, when will the government prioritise the safety of Victorian women and formally respond to this important report?

Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:22): I want to be absolutely clear that every day since we came to government, following the 2014 election, we have been committed to prioritising the safety of women. We committed to holding the family violence royal commission. We committed to implementing all 227 recommendations, something that those opposite did not support. As part of those recommendations we recruited 208 new family violence police officers – police officers working with victims of family violence – that you called not real police.

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! This matter is extremely concerning and it is also a problem, probably, for many people who are watching today’s question time and for some members in our chamber and in the gallery, so I would ask members to show some respect.

Michael O’Brien: On a point of order, Speaker, the question was specifically relating to the 45 ‍recommendations of the law reform commission’s report on stalking. I would ask you to bring the Premier back to answering the question: when specifically will the government respond to those 45 ‍recommendations?

The SPEAKER: A point of order is not an opportunity to repeat the question. The Premier was being relevant. You asked around prioritising the safety of Victorian women and formally responding. The Premier was being relevant.

Jacinta ALLAN: As I said, that work is ongoing. It is ongoing every single day, but particularly over the course of this year ministers have been working together on how we can build on the foundational changes we have made here as a state and look at what more we can do. I repeat: every single day the safety of women is a priority for our government through the work of the Minister for Prevention of Family Violence and every member of this government.