❓ Hon Stephen Dawson questions the Attorney General regarding state funding for Family Violence Prevention Legal Services if Commonwealth funding ceases, and support for male victims of family violence. The Attorney General provides a non-committal response regarding future funding and promises a direct response on male victim support.
AnsweredQoN 2022Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
I refer to Family Violence Prevention Legal Services in Western Australia, and I ask: (a) the Commonwealth Indigenous Advancement Strategy states a commitment to safety and wellbeing, under which the Aboriginal Family Law Services (WA) may apply for funding to continue to provide the Family Violence Prevention Legal Services program. In the event the Commonwealth fails to fund this service, will the State Government commit funding under its Western Australian Family and Domestic Violence Prevention Strategy to 2022; (b) if no to (1), how will the State Government support the sustainability of local services such as the Aboriginal Family Law Services (WA) providing place-based services to its constituents; (c) if no to (1), how will the State Government support the victims of family and sexual violence in rural and remote Western Australia (Broome, Carnarvon, Geraldton, Kalgoorlie, Kununurra and Port Hedland) who are no longer able to access these services; (d) if the service is funded by the Commonwealth, how will the State Government contribute to work performed by Aboriginal Family Law Services (WA) concerning State legislation; and (e) the State Government has funded the Metropolitan Family Violence Prevention Legal Service program, however this model does not support male clients. How will the State Government ensure gender bias does not apply to male victims of family violence seeking support in the Perth metropolitan area?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
25 November 2014
Response time
34 days
(a)-(d) The Family Violence Protection Legal Service is a Commonwealth funded program which is currently administered by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.
The Member has asked a series of hypothetical questions based on future Commonwealth funding scenarios. I am, of course, not privy to how the Commonwealth intends to fund any of its programs into the future.
I can inform the Member that the Western Australian Government has provided additional assistance to the Legal Aid Commission of Western Australia in response to the Commonwealth's under-funding of the Aboriginal Legal Service of WA. This is in an environment where Legal Aid itself has historically received a very poor funding deal from the Commonwealth, compared with other States and Territories.
In the event that the Commonwealth withdraws or reduces funding to the Family Violence Prevention Legal Service, then the State will obviously need to examine the effect this will have on clients of that service and possible avenues for additional support for those people. However, given the hypothetical scenario presented by the Member, I am unable at this stage to commit the State to any funding support for the Commonwealth funded Family Violence Prevention Legal Service into the future.
I also suggest that the Member takes the time to make representations to the Commonwealth on this issue, if he has not already done so.
(e) In relation to part (e) of the Member's Question, I have asked for further advice in relation to this matter and, with the Member's indulgence, will respond directly to him on that particular issue.
The Member has asked a series of hypothetical questions based on future Commonwealth funding scenarios. I am, of course, not privy to how the Commonwealth intends to fund any of its programs into the future.
I can inform the Member that the Western Australian Government has provided additional assistance to the Legal Aid Commission of Western Australia in response to the Commonwealth's under-funding of the Aboriginal Legal Service of WA. This is in an environment where Legal Aid itself has historically received a very poor funding deal from the Commonwealth, compared with other States and Territories.
In the event that the Commonwealth withdraws or reduces funding to the Family Violence Prevention Legal Service, then the State will obviously need to examine the effect this will have on clients of that service and possible avenues for additional support for those people. However, given the hypothetical scenario presented by the Member, I am unable at this stage to commit the State to any funding support for the Commonwealth funded Family Violence Prevention Legal Service into the future.
I also suggest that the Member takes the time to make representations to the Commonwealth on this issue, if he has not already done so.
(e) In relation to part (e) of the Member's Question, I have asked for further advice in relation to this matter and, with the Member's indulgence, will respond directly to him on that particular issue.
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.