Wednesday, 17 May 2023

 Sarah MANSFIELD (Western Victoria) (12:36): (176) My question is for the Attorney-General. I am sure the Attorney would agree that all victim-survivors of family violence deserve equitable access to legal support no matter where they live in Victoria. However, victim-survivors in the Barwon region of Western Victoria face the very real risk of missing out on that critical support due to inconsistencies in the way specialist family violence courts are being funded across the state. The first five specialist family violence courts established in 2019–20 received specialist funding so people could access legal support, helping victim-survivors keep safe and strengthening accountability measures for users of violence. The additional seven specialist family violence courts established at the end of last year are being implemented without community legal services receiving funding. This includes courts in Geelong, Melbourne, Sunshine, Broadmeadows, Ringwood, Dandenong and Latrobe Valley. My question to the Attorney-General is: will the government prioritise funding community legal services and ensure the specialist family violence courts can be delivered as designed for the constituents in Barwon?