❓ Hon. Moermond questions the effectiveness of past spending on family and domestic violence and the new taskforce. The Minister outlines measures taken and states cannabis legalisation is not a priority.
AnsweredQoN 1040Legislative Council
Asked
13 September 2023
Member
Portfolio
Prevention of Family and Domestic Violence
QuestionView source ↗
FAMILY AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE — SPECIAL TASKFORCE
1040. Hon SOPHIA MOERMOND to the minister representing the
Minister for Prevention of Family and Domestic Violence:
I refer to the announcement
yesterday, 12 September 2023, by the Premier of a special taskforce to help
guide the next phase of the state's efforts to address family and
domestic violence with a time limit, initially for six months, to focus on
delivering results.
(1) How did the
government measure the effectiveness of the $200 million that has been spent on
addressing family and domestic violence since 2017?
(2) How will the government measure
the effectiveness of the taskforce?
(3) Do the government's
programs address the role of alcohol in family and domestic violence?
(4) Is the
government aware of studies that have shown a link between the legalisation of
cannabis and a drop in family and domestic violence?
1040. Hon SOPHIA MOERMOND to the minister representing the
Minister for Prevention of Family and Domestic Violence:
I refer to the announcement
yesterday, 12 September 2023, by the Premier of a special taskforce to help
guide the next phase of the state's efforts to address family and
domestic violence with a time limit, initially for six months, to focus on
delivering results.
(1) How did the
government measure the effectiveness of the $200 million that has been spent on
addressing family and domestic violence since 2017?
(2) How will the government measure
the effectiveness of the taskforce?
(3) Do the government's
programs address the role of alcohol in family and domestic violence?
(4) Is the
government aware of studies that have shown a link between the legalisation of
cannabis and a drop in family and domestic violence?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of this question. The following response has been provided by the
Minister for the Prevention of Family and Domestic Violence.
(1) Our
government takes our response to family and domestic violence very seriously.
The measures the WA government has invested in include, but are not limited to,
building new refuges for women and children to escape family and domestic
violence; setting up one-stop family and domestic violence hubs; supporting more community�based programs,
including those focused on behaviour change for perpetrators ; and
primary prevention programs such as the respectful relationships program. These
are well-established ways of supporting a system-wide
response organised around victim safety and perpetrator accountability .
The government will continue to monitor these measures and how they work for
women, children and families experiencing family and domestic violence.
(2) The taskforce
was a key request from the recent family and domestic violence forum attended
by the Premier, the Minister for Prevention of Family and Domestic Violence and
several other ministers on 31 August 2023. The taskforce, to be co-chaired by
Professor Colleen Hayward, AM, and director general Emily Roper, is a priority.
The taskforce will be time limited and will regularly feed back to the Minister
for Prevention of Family and Domestic Violence to ensure actions continue to
advance work in the community and government.
(3) It is well
established that alcohol use, particularly by perpetrators, is a contributing
factor to the severity and impact of family and domestic violence. Specialist
family and domestic violence services that support victim–survivors and
work with perpetrators, as well as mainstream services—for example,
health services—would understand the impacts of alcohol use when working
with clients. The government established the
state's first-ever therapeutic refuge, which works with victim–survivors
with comorbidities of mental health and/or drug and alcohol use. The
government has also funded the development of an intersection capability
framework between the Western Australian Network of Alcohol and other Drug
Agencies and the Centre for Women's Safety and Wellbeing. Other
initiatives, led in other portfolios, also address the relationship between
alcohol and family and domestic violence. Liquor restrictions, such as those
introduced in Carnarvon, and the reforms to the banned drinkers register are
examples.
(4) It is not a priority
of the Cook Labor government to modify the existing laws and penalties in place
regarding cannabis possession and use.
The PRESIDENT : That was a very
long answer in response to a question that was seeking a lot of information. I call
Hon Martin Aldridge.
Hon MARTIN ALDRIDGE : Thank
you, President. I agree.
The PRESIDENT : Thank you for
your endorsement, honourable member!
some notice of this question. The following response has been provided by the
Minister for the Prevention of Family and Domestic Violence.
(1) Our
government takes our response to family and domestic violence very seriously.
The measures the WA government has invested in include, but are not limited to,
building new refuges for women and children to escape family and domestic
violence; setting up one-stop family and domestic violence hubs; supporting more community�based programs,
including those focused on behaviour change for perpetrators ; and
primary prevention programs such as the respectful relationships program. These
are well-established ways of supporting a system-wide
response organised around victim safety and perpetrator accountability .
The government will continue to monitor these measures and how they work for
women, children and families experiencing family and domestic violence.
(2) The taskforce
was a key request from the recent family and domestic violence forum attended
by the Premier, the Minister for Prevention of Family and Domestic Violence and
several other ministers on 31 August 2023. The taskforce, to be co-chaired by
Professor Colleen Hayward, AM, and director general Emily Roper, is a priority.
The taskforce will be time limited and will regularly feed back to the Minister
for Prevention of Family and Domestic Violence to ensure actions continue to
advance work in the community and government.
(3) It is well
established that alcohol use, particularly by perpetrators, is a contributing
factor to the severity and impact of family and domestic violence. Specialist
family and domestic violence services that support victim–survivors and
work with perpetrators, as well as mainstream services—for example,
health services—would understand the impacts of alcohol use when working
with clients. The government established the
state's first-ever therapeutic refuge, which works with victim–survivors
with comorbidities of mental health and/or drug and alcohol use. The
government has also funded the development of an intersection capability
framework between the Western Australian Network of Alcohol and other Drug
Agencies and the Centre for Women's Safety and Wellbeing. Other
initiatives, led in other portfolios, also address the relationship between
alcohol and family and domestic violence. Liquor restrictions, such as those
introduced in Carnarvon, and the reforms to the banned drinkers register are
examples.
(4) It is not a priority
of the Cook Labor government to modify the existing laws and penalties in place
regarding cannabis possession and use.
The PRESIDENT : That was a very
long answer in response to a question that was seeking a lot of information. I call
Hon Martin Aldridge.
Hon MARTIN ALDRIDGE : Thank
you, President. I agree.
The PRESIDENT : Thank you for
your endorsement, honourable member!
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