Kate Worden named first Prevention of Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Minister

The NT government has unveiled a new portfolio to tackle one of the Northern Territory’s biggest shames: domestic violence.

THE heartbreaking fight against domestic violence is being taken to a new level, with the appointment of the NT’s first ever government portfolio dedicated to prevention.

On Monday, Kate Worden was named the Minister for the Prevention of Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence – the first role of its kind for the Territory government.

It coincides with the NT government’s decision to invest an extra $10m onwards from the Territory Budget 2022 into tackling domestic and family violence over the next four years.

The funding boost will be invested in a variety of areas, including: establishing an Aboriginal-led and community-based specialist sexual assault service; implementing Action Plan 2 of the Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Reduction framework, and delivering culturally-safe training in hospitals and primary health settings.

Ms Worden said the new portfolio would centralise and co-ordinate domestic and family violence-related services.

“Domestic violence is impacting too many women and children,” she said.

“It is not good enough and we all need to do more to stop it.

“It takes a lot of courage and resilience to flee a domestic violence environment and that’s why we need to ensure we have the right support readily available for those who need it.”

Chief Minister Michael Gunner added: “Kate Worden is the best fit to lead in advocating and working with our domestic, family and sexual violence sector.

“Together they will be a strong united front to tackle this issue head on,” he said.

The Territory’s rates of domestic violence-related assaults continue to remain high.

The latest NT Police crime statistics show in Darwin, there was a 28 per cent increase in domestic violence-related assaults, with 1244 incidents recorded in the year to January 31, 2022.

In Palmerston there was a 27.9 per cent jump, with 545 incidents reported in the same period. There was a 9.73 per cent decline in incidents at Tennant Creek, with 269 incidents in the year to January 31.

There was also a drop of 8.7 per cent in Katherine, with 417 incidents reported in the same period.

The announcement also comes days after Malcolm Abbott, 50, was sentenced to at least 25 years behind bars for murdering his partner, prominent anti-domestic violence campaigner R. Rubuntja.

Ms Rubuntja, a founding member of the Tangentyere Women’s Family Safety Group, suffered fatal injuries and died in Alice Springs on January 7, 2021, after Abbott drove a Ford Falcon at the 46-year-old around 9.30pm.