Page 3172 - Week 11 - Wednesday, 12 September 1990
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Debate (on motion by Mr Connolly) adjourned.
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE (AMENDMENT) BILL (NO. 2) 1990
Debate resumed from 15 August 1990, on motion by Mr Collaery:
That this Bill be agreed to in principle.
MS FOLLETT (Leader of the Opposition) (4.23): The Labor Party supports this Bill, and indeed I have aired some of the issues covered by this Bill on previous occasions in the Assembly. Members may recall the matter of public importance which I raised on national Stop Domestic Violence Day. In that speech, I outlined some of the surprising statistics about the widespread nature of domestic violence and traced the difficulties created by community attitudes.
As I outlined that day, I believe that simply changing the law is not the final answer. The fact is that violence in the home constitutes a criminal assault, and it has always been wrong. It has long been illegal. The real problem is that we need a change in attitude by men who have to recognise that violence in the home is unacceptable. It is the perception that violence in the home is somehow different or more acceptable than violence in the street that has made it necessary to introduce special legislation.
The pioneering ordinance which was introduced in the ACT in 1986 has been very successful, and I have spoken before about the cooperative approach taken by the police, and the excellent work done by the Domestic Violence Crisis Service, which is now some two and a half years old. Both the Act and the crisis service are now seen as something of a model around the country.
The origins of this Bill can be traced to a review of the legislation initiated by the Commonwealth Attorney-General's Department in 1987, and taken over by the ACT administration later on in that year. That review involved widespread consultation and discussion of the findings with the Criminal Law Consultative Committee and also with relevant agencies. The major recommendations of the review are now reflected in the Bill, and I wish to draw attention to the two most important points.
The original ordinance allowed both spouses and children to seek protection from domestic violence. While this probably covered the vast majority of cases, it is clear that other people are unfortunately also victims. For example, parents or other relatives who reside in the home may become involved. The amendments contained in this Bill will extend coverage to all family and household based
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