❓ Ms McGurk questions the Premier on the Department for Child Protection and Family Support's handling of domestic violence cases, alleging inaction in a high percentage of identified cases. The Premier refutes the claim and highlights the government's efforts and increased police involvement.
AnsweredQoN 993Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
VIOLENCE
RESTRAINING ORDERS — OMBUDSMAN REPORT
993. Ms S.F. McGURK to the
Premier:
I have a supplementary question. I repeat to the Premier that
in 93 per cent of cases in which the Department for Child Protection and Family
Support identified violence as an issue, the department did not proceed with
further action. Why does this government treat family and domestic violence as
such a low priority?
RESTRAINING ORDERS — OMBUDSMAN REPORT
993. Ms S.F. McGURK to the
Premier:
I have a supplementary question. I repeat to the Premier that
in 93 per cent of cases in which the Department for Child Protection and Family
Support identified violence as an issue, the department did not proceed with
further action. Why does this government treat family and domestic violence as
such a low priority?
AnswerView source ↗
The final comment was both totally
inappropriate and totally wrong.
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Members!
Mr C.J. BARNETT :
This government, along with governments around Australia, is making a concerted
effort on domestic violence. While members opposite might say the department
may —
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Midland, I call you to order for the first time!
Mr C.J. BARNETT :
One of the issues is that until recently, police probably tended to ignore
domestic violence. Police, with that department, now take action. I visited a
police station only —
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Girrawheen, I call you to order for the first time.
Member for Midland, I do not want to hear again from you on this.
Mr C.J. BARNETT :
At the police station I visited about a month ago, the comments from the
sergeant in charge were basically that such a high proportion of their work now
is related to drugs and domestic violence—a change that has taken place
in the past few years. That is not to suggest that domestic violence did not
happen 10 years ago—of course it did—but now the police and
authorities are dealing with it. Although members opposite imply somehow that
the government has been negligent, do they know how many of those cases were
referred to police? I suspect that the serious ones are now being referred to
police, whereas under the watch of members opposite—if they want to be
political—they were not.
inappropriate and totally wrong.
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Members!
Mr C.J. BARNETT :
This government, along with governments around Australia, is making a concerted
effort on domestic violence. While members opposite might say the department
may —
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Midland, I call you to order for the first time!
Mr C.J. BARNETT :
One of the issues is that until recently, police probably tended to ignore
domestic violence. Police, with that department, now take action. I visited a
police station only —
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Girrawheen, I call you to order for the first time.
Member for Midland, I do not want to hear again from you on this.
Mr C.J. BARNETT :
At the police station I visited about a month ago, the comments from the
sergeant in charge were basically that such a high proportion of their work now
is related to drugs and domestic violence—a change that has taken place
in the past few years. That is not to suggest that domestic violence did not
happen 10 years ago—of course it did—but now the police and
authorities are dealing with it. Although members opposite imply somehow that
the government has been negligent, do they know how many of those cases were
referred to police? I suspect that the serious ones are now being referred to
police, whereas under the watch of members opposite—if they want to be
political—they were not.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.