The Orange Door
Emma VULIN (Pakenham) (17:19): (336) My adjournment is for the Minister for Prevention of Family Violence, and the action that I seek is for the minister to join me to visit the Orange Door in Pakenham. I was privileged to be present in April 2022 when the former minister Ms Williams opened the Pakenham access point for the southern Melbourne Orange Door in Pakenham. The Orange Door network is a free service for adults, children and young people who are experiencing or have experienced family violence and for families needing support. It brings together workers from a range of specialist family violence services to provide coordinated support. This support includes crisis assistance, risk assessment and safety planning and support for parents, children and young people. Since the Royal Commission into Family Violence this government has invested significantly in supports for those experiencing family violence, and the Orange Door network is part of this response. This is an important initiative for me personally, because I have seen family violence up close and the impacts that last forever and affect so many. My sister is a survivor and so are my beautiful nephews, which I touched on in my inaugural speech, so I will not go there again now.
The Orange Door in Pakenham sees several service providers collaborating to provide support through partnership: Anglicare, Dandenong & District Aborigines Co-operative, Uniting Vic.Tas, Victorian Aboriginal Childcare Agency, Wayss and the Victorian government. Since opening in November 2021 the southern Melbourne Orange Door network has helped more than 14,500 people, including more than 6300 children, which was the January 2023 figure. I welcome the Minister for Prevention of Family Violence to Pakenham to visit this critical service and thank the hardworking staff who do incredible work in this space.