Domestic violence victims bill deferred during Liberal Party leadership crisis
Vital legislation protecting domestic violence victims from being questioned directly by their attackers in court has been delayed because of the Liberal Party’s internal leadership crisis.
St George Shire Standard
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Vital legislation protecting domestic violence victims from being questioned directly by their attackers in court has been delayed because of the Liberal Party’s internal leadership crisis.
Parliament was adjourned on Thursday due to a chaotic power struggle between conservative MP Peter Dutton and the party’s moderate wing before Cook MP Scott Morrison ultimately won the party’s leadership spill.
The bill, which was first introduced in June, would have prevented domestic violence perpetrators from cross-examining their victims in court and potentially retraumatising them.
Barton federal MP Linda Burney said the Liberal Party’s leadership crisis had real life ramifications for domestic violence victims.
“This type of practice can be highly traumatising, with many women too frightened to undergo direct cross-examination and settling family law disputes for less optimal outcomes,” Ms Burney said.
BOCSAR statistics show Bayside Council has the region’s highest rate of domestic assault, with 524 incidents in the year to March 2018.
Georges River Council had the second highest rate per population with 388 incidents, and Sutherland Shire Council had the lowest rate with 471 incidents.
Hurstville had by far the highest number of domestic assault incidents with 92 in the year to March 2018, followed by Cronulla with 60, Caringbah with 53 and Kogarah with 48.
Labor first announced its cross-examination reform policy in November 2016, which included $43 million for Legal Aid to represent perpetrators.
In June, senior Labor MPs Tanya Plibersek, Mark Dreyfus and Terri Butler welcomed the government’s support for the legislation.
“This awful practice has been allowed to go on for far too long, giving perpetrators the chance to re-traumatise their victims through the court system,” they said.
“It’s four years since the Productivity Commission called for this change to happen and
nearly two years since COAG called for the cross-examination of victims to be eliminated.”
Ms Burney said Labor supported equal access to legal representation so perpetrators would not have to represent themselves and conduct their own questioning in court.
“This is why Labor is committed to an additional funding for legal aid services for unrepresented litigants in these types of disputes,” Ms Burney said.