Janetzki: Proposed DV laws would ‘fix failures’

TOOWOOMBA South MP and attorney-general opposition spokesman David Janetzki said the LNP’s proposed plan to better combat domestic violence would fix issues.

The public leave flowers at the vigil for Hannah Clarke and her three children Aaliyah, 6, Laianah, 4, and Trey, 3, at Bill Hewitt Reserve in Brisbane, Sunday February 23, 2020. (AAP Image/Sarah Marshall)

TOOWOOMBA South MP and attorney-general opposition spokesman David Janetzki said the LNP's proposed plan to better combat domestic violence would fix issues with the current system.

Mr Janetzki and Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington announced the new measures, promising to implement them if they won government at the upcoming state election later this year.

It comes in the wake of the tragic deaths of Hannah Clarke and her three children Aaliyah, Laianah and Trey at the hands of their father in Brisbane last week.

The proposed laws included stronger maximum penalties for strangulation offences, new technology and support to help protect survivors, and a complete review of the legal framework to empower police.

Toowoomba South member David Janetzki.

Mr Janetzki said police needed a better legal framework to curb domestic violence.

"Community safety should always come first," Mr Janetzki said.

"The LNP will immediately review the entire domestic criminal justice legal framework to fix any failures in the system.

"We will also implement new laws aimed at helping our police do their jobs and improve community safety.

"Our police and courts are overwhelmed under the current system, which isn't working to protect families or hold perpetrators accountable."

Ms Frecklington said the Queensland Government could play a bigger role in supporting victims and more effectively punishing perpetrators.

"I helped families escape violence as a lawyer and I'm determined to keep helping them as a politician," she said.

"I believe the government can do more to both prevent domestic violence and to help survivors, and it's an issue that should be above politics."

Ms Frecklington said the new measures built on the Not Now, Not Ever report, released in 2015.

Deputy Premier Jackie Trad told other media outlets the State Government would consider the LNP's proposal, arguing it wanted evidence-based solutions to a complicated issue.

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