❓ The Minister outlines the Cook Labor government's collaboration with the Albanese government to provide support and services for victim-survivors of family and domestic violence, including a $19.3 million investment to bolster the frontline response and expand the workforce.
AnsweredQoN 856Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
FAMILY AND DOMESTIC
VIOLENCE
856. Ms K.E. GIDDENS to the Minister for Prevention of
Family and Domestic Violence:
I
refer to the Cook Labor government's strong commitment to tackling the
scourge of family and domestic violence.
(1) Can the
minister outline to the house how this government is working with the federal
Labor government to provide more support and services for victim–survivors?
(2) Can the
minister advise the house how these additional services will allow for more
capacity in response to family and domestic violence?
VIOLENCE
856. Ms K.E. GIDDENS to the Minister for Prevention of
Family and Domestic Violence:
I
refer to the Cook Labor government's strong commitment to tackling the
scourge of family and domestic violence.
(1) Can the
minister outline to the house how this government is working with the federal
Labor government to provide more support and services for victim–survivors?
(2) Can the
minister advise the house how these additional services will allow for more
capacity in response to family and domestic violence?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2) I
thank the member for her question and ongoing interest and advocacy on behalf
of her community. The member is right; family and domestic violence is a scourge
in Western Australia, but we also know that it is a scourge right around the
country. It is also an important moment to acknowledge and recognise that the
Albanese government, like this state Labor government, is absolutely resolute
in its commitment to ending family and domestic violence right around the
country, particularly in support of the Cook Labor government in the important
work that we are doing in this state. A very important part of ending this
scourge and supporting victim–survivors is having an able, qualified
and well-resourced workforce. It goes to the heart of supporting victim–survivors
and making sure that we do all we can to not only support those people who have
experienced family and domestic violence, but also in other areas, whether it
relates to supporting perpetrators to change their ways or in the areas of
primary education.
The Albanese government has partnered
with the state Cook government on an extension of the national partnership on family, domestic and sexual violence
responses. It is an important one because it will see an investment that
will allow us to allocate 50 additional workers to bolster the frontline
response to domestic violence. It is a $19.3 million
national partnership extension. First announced in June, it has two main
parts. The first part, which I have spoken about previously in this place, would
see $3.1 million to support innovative
perpetrator responses—in particular, getting frontline workers to
support the important work of the family violence response teams, making
sure that we work closely with perpetrators to hold them to account, stare them
down and demand that they change their ways to break that cycle.
Additionally,
we will now be able to invest further, which will allow an additional 50
workers to be brought into the system to support the important work of
this government but, more importantly, to support the important work that various community sector organisations do day in,
day out to support victim–survivors . All in all, the Albanese
government is providing a total of some $169 million over four years in all
jurisdictions right around the country to deliver these very critical and
important frontline jobs to support women's safety. The frontline
worker initiative will help the workforce to deliver those specialist services
that are so important and tailor the support across the state.
The initiative aims to better deliver
important services to what we know are some of our most vulnerable cohorts. Some of these workers will be targeted to
First Nations people, those in rural and remote areas who are more
vulnerable, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds,
people with disability and, importantly, members of the LGBTQIA+ community,
whom we know experience disproportionally higher rates of family and domestic
violence. There will be positions such as caseworkers, outreach workers, victim–survivor advocates and
family and domestic violence counsellors. Importantly, the workers will
be a combination of fully qualified staff, partnered with trainees, so we are
building capacity and creating a future
workforce to support the important initiatives of the community service sector
right around the state when it comes to our response to family and
domestic violence.
The Albanese government gets it. The
state Cook Labor government gets it. Family and domestic violence is a scourge
on our community and the best way we can support victim–survivors is by
investments like these that seek to build
our capacity and build the sector's capacity to have well-trained and
what I describe as angels who work day in, day out supporting vulnerable
people in our community.
thank the member for her question and ongoing interest and advocacy on behalf
of her community. The member is right; family and domestic violence is a scourge
in Western Australia, but we also know that it is a scourge right around the
country. It is also an important moment to acknowledge and recognise that the
Albanese government, like this state Labor government, is absolutely resolute
in its commitment to ending family and domestic violence right around the
country, particularly in support of the Cook Labor government in the important
work that we are doing in this state. A very important part of ending this
scourge and supporting victim–survivors is having an able, qualified
and well-resourced workforce. It goes to the heart of supporting victim–survivors
and making sure that we do all we can to not only support those people who have
experienced family and domestic violence, but also in other areas, whether it
relates to supporting perpetrators to change their ways or in the areas of
primary education.
The Albanese government has partnered
with the state Cook government on an extension of the national partnership on family, domestic and sexual violence
responses. It is an important one because it will see an investment that
will allow us to allocate 50 additional workers to bolster the frontline
response to domestic violence. It is a $19.3 million
national partnership extension. First announced in June, it has two main
parts. The first part, which I have spoken about previously in this place, would
see $3.1 million to support innovative
perpetrator responses—in particular, getting frontline workers to
support the important work of the family violence response teams, making
sure that we work closely with perpetrators to hold them to account, stare them
down and demand that they change their ways to break that cycle.
Additionally,
we will now be able to invest further, which will allow an additional 50
workers to be brought into the system to support the important work of
this government but, more importantly, to support the important work that various community sector organisations do day in,
day out to support victim–survivors . All in all, the Albanese
government is providing a total of some $169 million over four years in all
jurisdictions right around the country to deliver these very critical and
important frontline jobs to support women's safety. The frontline
worker initiative will help the workforce to deliver those specialist services
that are so important and tailor the support across the state.
The initiative aims to better deliver
important services to what we know are some of our most vulnerable cohorts. Some of these workers will be targeted to
First Nations people, those in rural and remote areas who are more
vulnerable, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds,
people with disability and, importantly, members of the LGBTQIA+ community,
whom we know experience disproportionally higher rates of family and domestic
violence. There will be positions such as caseworkers, outreach workers, victim–survivor advocates and
family and domestic violence counsellors. Importantly, the workers will
be a combination of fully qualified staff, partnered with trainees, so we are
building capacity and creating a future
workforce to support the important initiatives of the community service sector
right around the state when it comes to our response to family and
domestic violence.
The Albanese government gets it. The
state Cook Labor government gets it. Family and domestic violence is a scourge
on our community and the best way we can support victim–survivors is by
investments like these that seek to build
our capacity and build the sector's capacity to have well-trained and
what I describe as angels who work day in, day out supporting vulnerable
people in our community.
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