❓ Hon Stephen Dawson questions the Minister for Child Protection regarding funding for women's refuges in the Kimberley and Pilbara regions post-June 2014, following funding cuts and a ministerial visit. The Minister confirms funding will continue post-June 2014, pending successful discussions on future service models.
AnsweredQoN 96Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
WOMEN'S
REFUGES — KIMBERLEY AND PILBARA
96. Hon
STEPHEN DAWSON to the Minister for Child Protection:
I refer to the Barnett government's decision last
year to cut funding to a number of women's refuges in the Pilbara and
the Kimberley and recent media reports of the minister's visit to
Fitzroy Crossing. Will the minister confirm that funding from the state
government is guaranteed to the following women and children's refuges
post-30 June 2014: Ngnowar Aerwah safe house in Wyndham; Ngaringga Ngurra Safe
House in Halls Creek; Munga Tharndu Maya women's shelter in Roebourne;
and Marninwarntikura Women's Shelter in Fitzroy Crossing?
The PRESIDENT : The
Minister for Women's Interests.
REFUGES — KIMBERLEY AND PILBARA
96. Hon
STEPHEN DAWSON to the Minister for Child Protection:
I refer to the Barnett government's decision last
year to cut funding to a number of women's refuges in the Pilbara and
the Kimberley and recent media reports of the minister's visit to
Fitzroy Crossing. Will the minister confirm that funding from the state
government is guaranteed to the following women and children's refuges
post-30 June 2014: Ngnowar Aerwah safe house in Wyndham; Ngaringga Ngurra Safe
House in Halls Creek; Munga Tharndu Maya women's shelter in Roebourne;
and Marninwarntikura Women's Shelter in Fitzroy Crossing?
The PRESIDENT : The
Minister for Women's Interests.
AnswerView source ↗
Unfortunately, I am not the Minister for Women's Interests;
I am the Minister for Child Protection.
I thank the member for some notice of this question. I had a
really good trip to Fitzroy Crossing where I met with the key proponents from
that particular women's resource centre. The people from Halls Creek
and Wyndham came down, and I appreciate the CEO from Wyndham driving for seven
hours to meet with me, which turned out to be quite a short meeting.
Nonetheless, we were able to get some clear information and discussion while I
was there. I think it is fair to say that the director general and the
executive director of country services had travelled to the Kimberley the week
prior to my being there. He had come back and said to me very clearly that we
needed to rethink that decision. I was very pleased about that. He had listened
to people up there and said that we needed to rethink this. It was also good
that I was travelling there the next week because I was able to reinforce the
decision we had made about rethinking it.
My conversation was primarily with
the women from the Fitzroy safe house services up there. What we needed to do
was very clear. We needed to extend the service contract of the safe houses
until at least 30 June to allow the department to continue discussions with the
organisations while the contract for any future service model was finalised. It
was also very clear—they understood and we had a good conversation—about
the need to find a way to ensure we could reach out into the community. For a
variety of reasons, women were not attending the safe house in the numbers that
were expected. That does not in any way suggest that the abuse in the community
was not happening, but there were reasons women were not coming to the safe
house. There needs to be a way of making use of those resources to reach out
into the community, and that is the sort of conversation we had. We also said
that we would maintain the current levels of funding for the refuges while
these negotiations continue around the future models of service that might work
there.
The department agreed to work in
partnership with the services to develop the appropriate service models to
address the significant impact of violence in those communities. It was also
agreed that, assuming these discussions are successful, funding will continue
to be available post-30 June 2014 for all those four services.
I am the Minister for Child Protection.
I thank the member for some notice of this question. I had a
really good trip to Fitzroy Crossing where I met with the key proponents from
that particular women's resource centre. The people from Halls Creek
and Wyndham came down, and I appreciate the CEO from Wyndham driving for seven
hours to meet with me, which turned out to be quite a short meeting.
Nonetheless, we were able to get some clear information and discussion while I
was there. I think it is fair to say that the director general and the
executive director of country services had travelled to the Kimberley the week
prior to my being there. He had come back and said to me very clearly that we
needed to rethink that decision. I was very pleased about that. He had listened
to people up there and said that we needed to rethink this. It was also good
that I was travelling there the next week because I was able to reinforce the
decision we had made about rethinking it.
My conversation was primarily with
the women from the Fitzroy safe house services up there. What we needed to do
was very clear. We needed to extend the service contract of the safe houses
until at least 30 June to allow the department to continue discussions with the
organisations while the contract for any future service model was finalised. It
was also very clear—they understood and we had a good conversation—about
the need to find a way to ensure we could reach out into the community. For a
variety of reasons, women were not attending the safe house in the numbers that
were expected. That does not in any way suggest that the abuse in the community
was not happening, but there were reasons women were not coming to the safe
house. There needs to be a way of making use of those resources to reach out
into the community, and that is the sort of conversation we had. We also said
that we would maintain the current levels of funding for the refuges while
these negotiations continue around the future models of service that might work
there.
The department agreed to work in
partnership with the services to develop the appropriate service models to
address the significant impact of violence in those communities. It was also
agreed that, assuming these discussions are successful, funding will continue
to be available post-30 June 2014 for all those four services.
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