❓ Opposition Leader Mettam questions the Premier about a domestic violence case and the effectiveness of the government's coercive control awareness campaign. The Premier defends his government's record and accuses the opposition of hypocrisy.
AnsweredQoN 736Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
COERCIVE CONTROL — AWARENESS CAMPAIGN
736. Ms L. METTAM to the Premier:
I refer to the multimillion-dollar
coercive control campaign launched by the Premier's government in a bid
to raise awareness about domestic violence at the same time that Brayden Bond
made 42 calls while being held in the Eastern Goldfields Regional Prison for
allegedly assaulting his then partner and repeatedly breaching protective bail
conditions in place to protect her.
If coercive control is so important
to the Premier's government, how was Brayden Bond —
Ms S. Winton interjected.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER :
Minister!
Ms L. METTAM : — able
to communicate with his victim or exert such control while under the
supervision of Corrective Services?
Ms S.E. Winton : You are clueless.
Ms L. METTAM : And you are a failure,
minister.
Ms S. Winton interjected.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER :
Minister! The question is not to you. It is to the Premier.
736. Ms L. METTAM to the Premier:
I refer to the multimillion-dollar
coercive control campaign launched by the Premier's government in a bid
to raise awareness about domestic violence at the same time that Brayden Bond
made 42 calls while being held in the Eastern Goldfields Regional Prison for
allegedly assaulting his then partner and repeatedly breaching protective bail
conditions in place to protect her.
If coercive control is so important
to the Premier's government, how was Brayden Bond —
Ms S. Winton interjected.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER :
Minister!
Ms L. METTAM : — able
to communicate with his victim or exert such control while under the
supervision of Corrective Services?
Ms S.E. Winton : You are clueless.
Ms L. METTAM : And you are a failure,
minister.
Ms S. Winton interjected.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER :
Minister! The question is not to you. It is to the Premier.
AnswerView source ↗
Indeed, the question could have
been to the Minister for Prevention of Family and Domestic Violence. She
would have made mincemeat out of it. It could have gone to the Attorney General
as well when it comes to our laws around coercive control. He would have dealt
with it in a pretty similar manner —
Ms S. Winton interjected.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER :
Minister! The Premier is on his feet.
Mr R.H. COOK : — or
it could have gone to the Minister for Corrective Services and he would have
dispensed with it in the usual efficiency that we see from some of these great
ministers. Obviously, I do not know the details of the case that the member
talked about, but I want to draw her attention to the fact that my government
has invested over $420 million extra into
family and domestic violence in this term alone. This was also informed by the family and domestic violence summit that we held last year that has seen a significant
uplift in the programs and awareness campaigns that we are running and the
tightening of our laws. One of the things that the advocates made very clear to
us was that they did not want laws around coercive control until we had a community
campaign that educated the community about the importance of understanding the
role of coercive control as part of the overall spectrum of family and domestic
violence actions.
I will not have someone come into
this place, particularly with the sorry record of the Liberals and Nationals
when it comes to family and domestic violence, and try to lecture us on about
policies and laws to eradicate family and domestic violence in our community.
We were the first government to have a minister for the elimination of family
and domestic violence.
Several members interjected.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER : Order!
Ms S. Winton interjected.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER : Minister!
Please stop interjecting. Thank you.
Ms L. Mettam interjected.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER : Leader of
the Liberal Party! Carry on, Premier.
Mr R.H. COOK : I do not think
there has been a government in the state's history that has done more
to address the issues of family and domestic violence in this community than my
government. Only WA Labor understands the importance of helping the most
vulnerable in our community, which is the reason we have invested over $420 million
extra in this term alone on family and domestic violence services. It is the
reason we were at the Ruah facility earlier on today to cut a ribbon on a state-of-the-art,
first-of-its-kind residential and wraparound services care facility, in part
assisted by a $30 million contribution from my government and an $882 000
contribution from Lotterywest, and the
tenacity of a government that is prepared to call-out Liberals who stand in the
way of developing those facilities. Wherever they are—whether
they are in this place or outside this place—we will call-out the
efforts by that side to bring division into the community, whether it is
through their candidate for Albany who has attacked LGBTQIA+ people, or their
now defunct candidate in Mandurah who has brought further division and hatred
into our community—a candidate that the member was not even able to
stand up to.
Ms L. Mettam interjected.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER : Leader of
the Liberal Party!
Mr R.H. COOK : It was only
after Hon Nick Goiran gave the call that that person stood down.
We are so proud of our record in
family and domestic violence. No government has done more —
Ms L. Mettam interjected.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER : Leader of
the Liberal Party!
Ms L. Mettam interjected.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER : Leader of
the Liberal Party!
Several members interjected.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER : Members!
Leader of the Liberal Party, no, but if you do want a supplementary, just let
the Premier finish.
Mr R.H. COOK : No government
has done more in the area of family and domestic violence than this government,
my government. That is why we understand that there is more to be done. There
are more laws to be made, more programs to be run and more education that needs
to be undertaken in the community. We all have a responsibility to make sure
that we call it out where we see it and that we do what we can to influence our
friends, relatives and people in the community to ensure that people know that
it is not okay. That is why my government is so committed to the elimination of
family and domestic violence.
been to the Minister for Prevention of Family and Domestic Violence. She
would have made mincemeat out of it. It could have gone to the Attorney General
as well when it comes to our laws around coercive control. He would have dealt
with it in a pretty similar manner —
Ms S. Winton interjected.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER :
Minister! The Premier is on his feet.
Mr R.H. COOK : — or
it could have gone to the Minister for Corrective Services and he would have
dispensed with it in the usual efficiency that we see from some of these great
ministers. Obviously, I do not know the details of the case that the member
talked about, but I want to draw her attention to the fact that my government
has invested over $420 million extra into
family and domestic violence in this term alone. This was also informed by the family and domestic violence summit that we held last year that has seen a significant
uplift in the programs and awareness campaigns that we are running and the
tightening of our laws. One of the things that the advocates made very clear to
us was that they did not want laws around coercive control until we had a community
campaign that educated the community about the importance of understanding the
role of coercive control as part of the overall spectrum of family and domestic
violence actions.
I will not have someone come into
this place, particularly with the sorry record of the Liberals and Nationals
when it comes to family and domestic violence, and try to lecture us on about
policies and laws to eradicate family and domestic violence in our community.
We were the first government to have a minister for the elimination of family
and domestic violence.
Several members interjected.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER : Order!
Ms S. Winton interjected.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER : Minister!
Please stop interjecting. Thank you.
Ms L. Mettam interjected.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER : Leader of
the Liberal Party! Carry on, Premier.
Mr R.H. COOK : I do not think
there has been a government in the state's history that has done more
to address the issues of family and domestic violence in this community than my
government. Only WA Labor understands the importance of helping the most
vulnerable in our community, which is the reason we have invested over $420 million
extra in this term alone on family and domestic violence services. It is the
reason we were at the Ruah facility earlier on today to cut a ribbon on a state-of-the-art,
first-of-its-kind residential and wraparound services care facility, in part
assisted by a $30 million contribution from my government and an $882 000
contribution from Lotterywest, and the
tenacity of a government that is prepared to call-out Liberals who stand in the
way of developing those facilities. Wherever they are—whether
they are in this place or outside this place—we will call-out the
efforts by that side to bring division into the community, whether it is
through their candidate for Albany who has attacked LGBTQIA+ people, or their
now defunct candidate in Mandurah who has brought further division and hatred
into our community—a candidate that the member was not even able to
stand up to.
Ms L. Mettam interjected.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER : Leader of
the Liberal Party!
Mr R.H. COOK : It was only
after Hon Nick Goiran gave the call that that person stood down.
We are so proud of our record in
family and domestic violence. No government has done more —
Ms L. Mettam interjected.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER : Leader of
the Liberal Party!
Ms L. Mettam interjected.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER : Leader of
the Liberal Party!
Several members interjected.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER : Members!
Leader of the Liberal Party, no, but if you do want a supplementary, just let
the Premier finish.
Mr R.H. COOK : No government
has done more in the area of family and domestic violence than this government,
my government. That is why we understand that there is more to be done. There
are more laws to be made, more programs to be run and more education that needs
to be undertaken in the community. We all have a responsibility to make sure
that we call it out where we see it and that we do what we can to influence our
friends, relatives and people in the community to ensure that people know that
it is not okay. That is why my government is so committed to the elimination of
family and domestic violence.
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