Thursday, 28 November 2024
Bills
Family Violence (Right to Disclosure of Information) Bill 2024
Bills
Family Violence (Right to Disclosure of Information) Bill 2024
Introduction
Cindy McLEISH (Eildon) (09:34): I move:
That I introduce a bill for an act to provide for disclosure in certain circumstances of information held by Victoria Police about a person’s history of violent behaviour and for other purposes.
We would all be aware in this place that this week kicked off 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence, and we are all aware that this is still an absolutely top-of-mind issue for so many people. I think it is fair to say that everybody thinks that we need to do more in this space, and this bill that I am introducing is a mechanism to help us do more in this space. It is based on Clare’s Law in the United Kingdom, which has been in place for a decade, and more recently a bipartisan scheme that is operating very successfully in South Australia.
By way of brief explanation, the right-to-ask component provides an avenue for individuals with concerns about their partner or former partner’s potential history of abuse to be able to contact police. The police in turn will conduct initial checks, and if warranted they will have a face-to-face meeting with the applicant and assess the risk and gather more details. This scheme, the right to ask, also provides an avenue for friends and relatives of an individual to contact police. The second component of this is the right to know, and this is the component that is initiated by the police. It will allow the police to disclose information when they believe it will protect a potential victim from harm. It is important to balance privacy rights with public safety through the assessments in this space.
Despite investment and the Royal Commission into Family Violence, the figures in Victoria are not heading in the right direction. We see the total number of family violence incidents increase. The number of incidents involving women and children have increased. Family violence related kidnapping and abduction offences trended up from 2014 to 2022. Family violence related sexual offences have also trended up from 2014 to 2022, with an 83 per cent increase in offending when comparing 2014 to 2022.
I am very keen to have government support on this bill. I want to quote from Hansard. The Minister for Prevention of Family Violence said on Tuesday:
Violence has a ripple effect. Its harm spreads across communities. It costs the Victorian economy more than $8.3 billion a year across business, government and families. Government has a leadership role to play, and we are leading Australia in the work we have done and continue to do. Community has a role too. We must bring about change together.
That to me is saying that the government is willing to work with everybody, including us, to help bring about this change. The bill that I am putting forward is another step. It is not a silver bullet; it is another step to help move in this space. It is about prevention, and we know it needs to play a greater role. The minister talked about a lot of the achievements of the government, and she said:
We will keep doing this work not just over 16 days but every day.
That is what I am asking the minister to do. Let us get it started today. I want her to continue doing this. The chair of Respect Victoria Kate Fitz-Gibbon in an interview last week with Justin Smith said:
No one intervention alone … full spectrum of responses from prevention to early intervention … but also recovery and healing … is incredibly important …
In Australia there was one fatality a week allegedly by males of someone they knew. Now it is one every four days across Victoria.
I think you need to consider, though, what also happens when somebody has access to this sort of information. What then? Because of that, this bill proposes to keep women safe, because once you hear this information it can be quite traumatic. Not only do you have the police command that play their role with their family violence experts, but it also allows counselling sessions for the person who has been the victim about how they are going to develop strategies and how they are going to remain safe, because that is something that is a concern once they have this information. That is built into this bill.
I would really like to see the government support us on this rather than vote it down. It is important. They know there needs to be more work in prevention in the family violence space. I call on the minister to support us, because too many women have lost their lives.
Tim RICHARDSON (Mordialloc) (09:39): This is an important discussion on the 16 days of activism around the elimination of gender-based violence. I am really glad that the prevention of family violence is a feature and has been a feature of this Parliament.
Tim RICHARDSON: I note the member for South-West Coast is interjecting. It is not a time to interject on these issues, and it is also –
Members interjecting.
Tim RICHARDSON: I know it is really important that we raise the standards. We have come a long way from when the former Premier described the royal commission as a lawyers picnic. Remember, some of the people in this place observed the then Premier of the state describe the Royal Commission into Family Violence as a lawyers picnic. We have come a long way since that was the description of an internationally leading royal commission that saw in January 2023 all 227 –
Members interjecting.
Tim RICHARDSON: There are interjections from the member for Lowan, who was part of the team that was describing at that time the royal commission as a lawyers picnic. We have come a long way from that. The member –
James Newbury: On a point of order, Speaker, this is a procedural motion, not an opportunity for the member to sledge.
The SPEAKER: The point of order is?
James Newbury: On relevance.
The SPEAKER: I am aware of the point of order. I was going to comment on the comment that you made after the point of order. Member for Mordialloc and other members who will speak on this, it is a procedural motion.
Tim RICHARDSON: It is important in the context we have come to, because the bill being put forward today suggests that there is not a substantial amount of prevention work already going on, as does the urgency of bringing on a bill on the last day, when we have a decade-long evidence base that is informed by a royal commission and some of the most innovative, internationally leading evidence and research that is led by Respect Victoria.
Tim RICHARDSON: I would ask the Leader of the Opposition to be respectful during this debate – I know it is the last day and yelling across the chamber about the prevention of family violence is really important – and to lift the standards in this debate and this discussion, like when we were out there in Queen’s Hall the other day, and the important work that is done around prevention. The reason this procedural debate and this bill are not at an appropriate time is that we are on the edge of nation-leading, if not internationally leading, work with the saturation model out at Ballarat.
Tim RICHARDSON: The member for Ovens Valley can say, ‘Yeah, yeah, we’ve heard that all before,’ but we have not heard that all before. We have not had a saturation model where every bit of preventative work has been tested – four years of the most innovative work in the prevention of family violence. It is something that every single one of us should be absolutely excited and passionate about. I do acknowledge that the Shadow Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence was there throughout the 16 days of activism launch, and members across this place participated in the march as well. We have had the 227 recommendations, and then the family safety package of more than $100 million was implemented. And then on top of that, and why this procedural debate is not at the appropriate time, there is the perpetrator study that was funded as part of that.
In my role as Parliamentary Secretary for Men’s Behaviour Change I support the outstanding and tireless work of the Minister for Prevention of Family Violence. Never have we seen so much commitment and support in this area. I appreciate the values and the views of the shadow minister –
Tim RICHARDSON: Could the member for Lowan allow me to give some praise to the shadow minister, who has shown that bipartisanship, who has fronted up and been briefed. I appreciate the interest in this area.
I want to also say that there are two elements that need to be considered in this context. One is: what are the requests that are coming from the innovative research agency Respect Victoria? We have already got the multi-agency risk assessment and management framework in place, which is absolutely critical, and then we have the central information point – nation leading. The central information point, for those that are not aware, provides timely information to support effective risk management and assessment, particularly in medium- and high-risk cases. The central information point and the risk assessment and management panel; Safe Steps; men’s referral services; and courts and the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing provide that critical central information and oversight that Victoria Police interact with as well.
In any consideration of change, we are absolutely up for future discussion, but how does it add to that volume? How does it add to that innovative work rather than the politicised interjections that have been shown by the colleagues of the shadow minister?
Jade BENHAM (Mildura) (09:45): I am thrilled today to rise to support the member for Eildon in this bill that has been put forward. In the context of this debate, instead of using the term ‘victim-survivors’, I will use ‘we’, for obvious reasons. And you know what we find really annoying? The politicisation of family violence. I have the utmost respect for the member for Mordialloc, and in his role as the Parliamentary Secretary for Men’s Behaviour Change I hope that he would lead by example and stop the politicisation of a topic like this.
The Shadow Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence bringing about a bill like this is incredibly important. I have said this before. You can talk about the amount of investment that has been put in, you can talk about saturation models in Ballarat, which is great, and the Orange Door – they are all great steps forward – but we hear ‘$29 million package’ and all we hear is a lot of zeros and zero outcomes, because the stats are just growing: 82 women this year. It is getting worse. All of those zeros are having zero effect in bringing the stats down, so let us stop.
I plead with the government to support this, because we need to do this. You have got no choice. We need to work together. Support us. Yes, there have been models of this that may been brought up before which have not been supported for whatever reason, but, you know what, the conversation has to go two ways. It is so important. It is too important to go, ‘It wasn’t our idea so we’re not even going to look at it.’ It is just disgusting to have that, and we as victim-survivors – and I hate the term victim-survivor; I am not a victim. I was once. Now I and people that I work with, like Kim O’Reilly, consider ourselves survivors, surviving for a reason, and this is it – agents for change, but you have got to come with us. Two ears, one mouth – use them in that order. Please, we are begging you. You have to at least have the conversation.
The member for Eildon has done a huge amount of work here, and it is one step forward. There are other things obviously that need change. There is no silver bullet, we all know that, but the most important thing here is stop patronising us, honestly, because it is not only silly politics but it is also really quite offensive to people like me. Stop politicising it. Just sit down, have the conversation and let us move forward. Let us start to bring those stats down. This is a bill that has $9.4 million across 2024–25 and then to 2027–28. $9 million – it is a drop in the ocean when we hear the government talking about the amount of investment that goes in with zero outcomes. This is something that could actually work; this is a good policy decision and a way forward. There is evidence that this works. There is Clare’s Law in the UK, and South Australia has a similar model.
This is evidence-based policy that could actually work, so why won’t the government support it? I am pleading with the government to please support this for people like me, people like the nine Victorians this year that did not get the chance, like the 82 women this year in Australia that did not get the chance. It is time to stop politicising this. It is time to make some good policy and evidence-based decisions and start making some actual change in moving forward in the state so that we can bring those numbers down. We do not have a choice anymore. We have to act right now. You can start to make change.
Daniela DE MARTINO (Monbulk) (09:50): I have heard and listened to the genuine impassioned pleas from the member of Mildura, and I thank her for her candour in this place, because I know that this is not easy to discuss. I recognise too that the member for Eildon is genuinely concerned about these issues, as all of us are in this chamber. I do not think that there is anyone in here –
Members interjecting.
Daniela DE MARTINO: I would prefer to not be heckled as I try to contribute to this in as measured a way as possible without becoming incredibly emotional as well. It is a procedural motion, and I am very aware of that, so I will try to stay to the procedure.
This is about prevention. I hear that this is something we have been working incredibly hard on, and I think Respect Victoria is the government agency that is leading the way. It is actually nation-leading, and I know that it is cold comfort to some to hear that when they have been on the receiving end of this or they are no longer with us because of family violence. But the work that Respect Victoria is doing is remarkable, and the way to do this, the way for us all to move forward is through the appropriate government agencies, through the machinery of government. Introducing a bill on the last sitting day of the year is not the way for us to move forward in this manner. It does not mean we are not listening; it means that this is not the way to go about things. This is not the way to introduce a bill that has not made its way through and had consultation with Respect Victoria. This is incredibly important. It is such delicate, important work that it must be dealt with in the most thorough and considered way possible.
The member for Mordialloc, with his globally groundbreaking role – there is nowhere else that we know of where this portfolio is held – raised a number of salient points. He raised so many important points here. He was saying that whatever we do in this space has to completely add to the body of work already undertaken. We held a royal commission, we adopted every single recommendation – that was groundbreaking work. I have spoken with my Orange Door network. I am just trying to explain here why it is so important that we tread carefully, because Victoria is being looked at by the rest of the nation on how to pioneer this as best as possible. The way we proceed is being held up as a beacon for every other state and territory in this country; therefore we cannot rush anything, and we must do it through the machinery of government. We must give this the absolute consideration it deserves. We must use every agency and lever of government that we have to hand to ensure that whatever it is that we do and whichever way we move forward is the best possible way. We should leave nothing to chance and nothing to any unintended consequence that may eventuate from it. It is incredibly imperative upon all of us that this is tackled in the most bipartisan of ways, and that means not introducing a bill on the last sitting day of the year. There is a way to go about it.
We can all feel the passion, the rage and the grief that comes from family violence, and the people who are no longer with us who should be here. None of us lack that emotion; none of us lack that passion. I am looking around the chamber on every single side. I know everyone feels deeply. I am saying genuinely: we must consider this so carefully. This is not a motion we will be supporting today, because it needs to be done through the machinery of government. It needs to be considered. Respect Victoria is the agency and the appropriate mechanism; we need to go through that. I know that there is genuine concern and passion, but this is not the way forward. We will not be supporting it.
Nicole WERNER (Warrandyte) (09:55): I rise to support the member for Eildon’s bill because there is nothing more important than protecting women from domestic violence. I acknowledge that there is a lot of emotion in this place, and I acknowledge the fact that one in three women have experienced physical or sexual violence since the age of 15 and that is a real and urgent matter that we are discussing today. We either are someone or know someone who has been a victim of sexual or physical abuse because of gender-based violence, and that is why it is incumbent upon us in this place to protect women in Victoria. That is the reason we are introducing this bill, and all we are asking for is support to debate it. We are not asking for you to say yes to the bill, but to just simply debate it, to talk about it. We are asking for us to talk about it in this 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence. In 2021 alone there were 92,700 family violence incidents reported in Victoria. That is 92,700 moments of terror, fear and despair. Since 2014 family violence related kidnapping and abduction offences have increased by a staggering 92 per cent, and 93 per cent of these victims are women. Family violence related sexual assaults have risen by 83 per cent. That is why this is urgent. That is why we are moving to debate this this week. It is our responsibility in this place to protect these women.
We know the truth that the system is failing. It is going backwards. Despite the government’s claims of fully implementing the recommendations of the 2015 Royal Commission into Family Violence, family violence rates continue to rise. These resources currently in place are not enough, and it was your chair of Respect Victoria Professor Kate Fitz-Gibbon in an interview last week who said there is no one intervention alone, that we need a full spectrum of responses from prevention to early intervention for recovery and healing.
We are moving this today because we need to protect women. There have been women today, there have been women this year, who have been subject to gender-based violence, and staggeringly, in the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee in May, we heard that the government have underspent in their budget. So I want to name them, because that is our responsibility in this place, to name them, to remember them, and to take action on their behalf, because it is our responsibility. It is our responsibility in this place to not just virtue-signal, not just wear orange, not just have all the things in place but actually take action.
On 16 February, Rebecca Young – we remember her – was 42 years old. Her partner is believed to have stabbed her and then taken his own life. On 4 February, Samantha Murphy, 51; 9 March, Swetha Madhagani, 35 – her body was found locked in a wheelie bin, and her husband reportedly fled to India with their young son; 5 April, Hannah McGuire, 23 – her former boyfriend was charged with murder, her body found in a burnt-out car; 23 April, Emma Bates, 49 – her neighbour was charged with assault-related offences but not murder; 23 July, Annette Brennan, 67 – it is alleged that her murderer was known to her; 7 October, Isla Bell, 19 – unknown; 26 October, Nikkita Azzopardi, 35 – her partner was charged with murder; and 16 November, just a couple of weeks ago, Vicky Van Aken, 51 – her neighbour was charged with her murder. That is why it is urgent. That is why we must debate this. That is why we must introduce this bill, so we can talk about this and we can take real action.
It is not about politics, it is about an evidence-based bill that has made a significant difference in the UK and in South Australia. This is what we need to do. It is urgent. It is working in other places. That is why we must debate this bill. That is why we must introduce it to this place. There have been bills that the government has also introduced in the last sitting week, so why not allow us to as well? This is absolutely crucial.
Juliana ADDISON (Wendouree) (10:00): I am going to try and bring the tone down –
Members interjecting.
The SPEAKER: Order! I remind members about this debate being very triggering for some members. The emotion in the chamber is palpable. Without interjections, the member for Wendouree.
Juliana ADDISON: because we are all angry. We are not just angry today, we have been angry for decades. That is why we have 16 days of activism and decades of women campaigning around the world against gendered violence – and Australia is really good at it. We are world leaders in killing women. We are world leaders in bashing our loved ones. We are world leaders at gendered violence. That is why this state – our state – did the royal commission, the first one in the world, because we said: we do not want to be the best at this, we do not want to be the best people in the world at killing women, at impacting our children, at bringing about intergenerational trauma where we stuff up our future because we do not address violence. That is what the Royal Commission into Family Violence was. It was not political, it was getting independent commissioners to speak to experts, to speak to people with lived experience, to speak to people who have researched this. It was not about a media grab, it was not about a moment in time; it was about getting the best evidence to make sure that we are spending taxpayers money to address this scourge on our whole society, in every household, in every electorate. There are some issues that do not impact every single electorate in this state, but this is one that does. It unifies all of us.
The member for Warrandyte mentioned the women who got killed in my electorate this year. Of the 82, three lived in my community. We are leading the pack; Ballarat is really good. We are the gold-medal winners. We have got three out of 82 nationally. This is why we have to make a stand, for people like Rebecca Young in Sebastopol, who was killed by her husband, whose kids go to the local school with so many other people. The ripple effect of Rebecca Young’s murder in Sebastopol by her intimate partner started in February. Not many people know about Rebecca Young. She did not get a lot of coverage, because it was just another murder. But we all know about Samantha Murphy, going for a run. And now my community, the schools that her kids went to and the schools that the alleged murderer went to are all impacted. Everyone is impacted in Ballarat. Then Hannah McGuire, during the school holidays, was a teacher’s aide at Delacombe Primary. They had their writers festival last October – the most amazing thing – and I met Hannah McGuire. She showed me her kids’ work. She was so proud of those kids. She was killed by her intimate partner. That is three murders in Ballarat within two months because of family violence, because of gendered violence. That is why we need to listen to the people who know best – the experts.
I take up what the member for Mildura said – that we need to talk about lived experience. We need to amplify and hear the voices of lived experience. That is why the saturation model that is being brought to my community in a world first will be co-designed with service providers: with WRISC, with the Central Highlands Integrated Family Violence Committee, with BADAC, the Ballarat and District Aboriginal Co-operative, with CAFS – all of these locals who know what is best. It will not by me, not by a member of Parliament, but by the people who work with survivors, who deal with the trauma of children, who deal with the men who are responsible for violence in my community.
Assembly divided on motion:
Ayes (28): Brad Battin, Jade Benham, Roma Britnell, Tim Bull, Martin Cameron, Chris Crewther, Gabrielle de Vietri, Wayne Farnham, Sam Groth, Matthew Guy, David Hodgett, Emma Kealy, Tim McCurdy, Cindy McLeish, James Newbury, Danny O’Brien, Michael O’Brien, Kim O’Keeffe, John Pesutto, Tim Read, Richard Riordan, Brad Rowswell, Ellen Sandell, David Southwick, Bill Tilley, Bridget Vallence, Kim Wells, Nicole Werner
Noes (48): Juliana Addison, Jacinta Allan, Colin Brooks, Josh Bull, Anthony Carbines, Ben Carroll, Anthony Cianflone, Sarah Connolly, Chris Couzens, Jordan Crugnale, Lily D’Ambrosio, Daniela De Martino, Steve Dimopoulos, Eden Foster, Matt Fregon, Ella George, Luba Grigorovitch, Bronwyn Halfpenny, Katie Hall, Paul Hamer, Mathew Hilakari, Melissa Horne, Natalie Hutchins, Lauren Kathage, Sonya Kilkenny, Nathan Lambert, Gary Maas, Alison Marchant, Kathleen Matthews-Ward, Steve McGhie, Paul Mercurio, John Mullahy, Tim Pallas, Danny Pearson, Pauline Richards, Tim Richardson, Michaela Settle, Ros Spence, Natalie Suleyman, Meng Heang Tak, Jackson Taylor, Nina Taylor, Kat Theophanous, Mary-Anne Thomas, Iwan Walters, Vicki Ward, Dylan Wight, Belinda Wilson
Motion defeated.