Orders not worth the paper they are written on... yet.

"Domestic violence orders are not worth the paper they are written on.” Queensland's Shadow Minister for women Ros Bates got that right.

Fraser Coast Chronicle deputy editor Jessica Grewal

"Domestic violence orders are not worth the paper they are written on." Queensland's Shadow Minister for women Ros Bates got that right when she spoke of the region's miserable domestic violence statistics on Monday.

Last year, 18 Queensland women died at the hands of their partner.

Is anyone foolish enough to think a piece of paper would have stopped the perpetrators?

But what if that piece of paper represented more than just a ill-fated agreement?

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What if that piece of paper was a powerful warning of the justice that is sure to swiftly follow if that agreement is breached?

Statistics show almost one in seven breaches are committed by a person who has already breached the order five times.

Why is bail even an option at that point? When a mother is fleeing with her children and the clothes on her back she needs to know that piece of paper is enough and any tormentor who breaches it will end up behind bars with people who pack a far meaner punch.

With a 30% spike in local domestic violence applications - what an opportunity for our local magistrates to lead by example.

Originally published as Orders not worth the paper they are written on... yet.