SPECIALIST DOMESTIC VIOLENCE UNIT FOR LONGMAN

The Turnbull Government will establish a Specialist Domestic Violence Unit and Health Justice Partnership with the Women’s Legal Service Queensland in Longman.

 

The new domestic violence unit in Caboolture will help victims gain access to lawyers, social workers and health professionals. It will also assist with crisis support and accommodation.

 

Acting Nationals Leader Bridget McKenzie said more than $500,000 would be committed to expand support for victims of family violence in Longman and surrounding areas.

 

“Keeping victims of family violence safe is an absolute priority. I congratulate LNP candidate for Longman Trevor Ruthenberg for his strong advocacy on this important issue. ”

 

“As Trevor knows, police statistics show the Caboolture area and surrounds have one of the highest rates of applications by police for Domestic Violence Orders (DVO), but also one of the highest rates of DVO breaches, in Queensland.’’

 

“That is why we are providing services to more Queenslanders today with the establishment of a Domestic Violence Unit and Health Justice Partnership in Longman. This will ensure women and children in the area have expanded access to the services they need.”

 

Today’s announcement adds to the $23.3 million already provided by the Turnbull Government for specialist domestic violence units across the country, including Queensland DVUs in Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Townsville.

 

Mr Ruthenberg hailed the expansion of the highly regarded DVUS by the Turnbull Government.

 

“I know the Turnbull Government’s existing Domestic Violence Units and Health Justice Partnerships in Queensland have a demonstrated track record of providing the services vulnerable women need to resolve their legal problems”, Mr Ruthenberg, said.

 

“They also employ social workers and other support services, to help women get their lives back on track after experiencing violence relationships.

 

“Family and domestic violence is a first-order issue for people in Longman. That is why I fought for extra resources in Longman to further address this problem.

 

“Securing funding of over $500,000 will ensure women, children and men experiencing or at risk of domestic and family violence in Longman have the services required to assist them, often in a time of crisis”.

 

Shadow Minister for Health and Ambulance Services, Ros Bates has also welcomed today’s announcement and acknowledged the impact the Federal Government’s funding has on Longman communities.

 

“Clearly more needs to be done to protect vulnerable women in the Longman electorate,” Ms Bates said.

 

“The Palaszczuk Labor Government has actually cut the local police presence by 13 officers in the last year, which is hard to believe given that this is Police Minister Mark Ryan’s own backyard.”

 

The Women’s Legal Service Queensland has a track record for providing essential legal and social support services to women experiencing domestic and family violence in Queensland.

 

For this reason, WLSQ has been selected to expand its successful Specialist Domestic Violence Unit and Health Justice Partnership to Caboolture, providing outreach to the surrounding areas.

 

The Minister for Women, Kelly O’Dwyer, said the Turnbull Government’s funding of over $500,000 in Longman builds on the historic financial and social support provided in recent years to address family and domestic violence across Australia.

 

“The Turnbull Government has zero tolerance for domestic and family violence and has invested more than $300 million into programmes to improve women’s safety. We are focused on practical measures that reduce the incidence of violence and, when it does occur, support the victims and their children”, Ms O’Dwyer, said.

 

“Today’s announcement builds on last week’s introduction into Parliament of legislation to protect victims of serious family violence from having to directly cross-examine or be cross-examined by perpetrators of violence during family law proceedings.