Shadow Minister for Prevention of Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence, Steve Edgington says that the CLP will be introducing a policy to tackle the disgraceful rates of domestic violence across the Territory.
“The Fyles Government has failed Territorians and failed to keep them safe. In Alice Springs last week police reported 54 cases of domestic violence over a 48 hour period.
“The catastrophic increase in domestic violence across the Territory under Labor’s watch has got to stop. The CLP has a plan to tackle domestic violence. Unlike Labor, we will always put the rights of victims above those of offenders,” says Mr Edgington
DOMESTIC AND FAMILY VIOLENCE POLICY
The levels of domestic and family violence are unacceptably high in the Northern Territory. In 2021 the Territory recorded 5539 domestic violence assaults. This is a 42% increase on 2016 levels. The proportion of all assaults that are related to domestic violence over the same period of time has also increased[1].
Labor’s approach to domestic violence and crime in general is not in line with community expectations and the increases in both areas since taking office are startling.
There has clearly been no shift in these statistics and the current policies being employed by the Labor Government are simply not working.
Labor has passed legislation[2] to allow domestic violence offenders to be bailed in order to attend a rehabilitative program, giving the Court discretion to deem completion of said program an exceptional circumstances, potentially meaning the offender will avoid mandatory sentencing.
The Country Liberal Party’s first priority is the rights and safety of victims of crimes, and remains strongly opposed to the Labor Government’s propensity for placing a greater importance on the rights of offenders over those of victims.
Stakeholders in the sector have raised concerns with Labor’s approach, including insufficient monitoring of offenders on bail while they attend programs.
Labor’s plan does not include any additional monitoring of the offender, electronic or otherwise, throughout the period of their bail, even though rehabilitative programs are not residential or secure.
Rehabilitation Programs
Another concern that the CLP shares with stakeholders is the appropriateness and availability of programs that will be deemed ‘rehabilitative’. The Government has acknowledged that “It is hard to get really strong data that shows whether the program is working or not.”[3]
That is why the Country Liberal Party would initiate behaviour change programs that are residential or undertaken while a domestic violence offender is incarcerated, not while they are on bail and remain a risk to the victims.
We would carefully record and report on the outcomes of any rehabilitative programs, and until the data can show that this program is effective for domestic violence offenders, and that victims can be guaranteed protection, offenders should not be bailed or allowed to avoid mandatory sentencing.
The CLP understands that there is a community expectation that victims are protected, and that offenders face the consequences of their action, and this expectation will be at the forefront of our approach to domestic and family violence.
Domestic and Family Violence Grant Funding
An additional shortfall of the Labor Government has been their failure to effectively and equitably allocation domestic violence related grants. A Country Liberal Government would continue to fund shelters and crisis services and recognise the value of these services. However, we recognise the need to reprioritise funding to ensure women’s legal services are adequately resourced to do their important work.
A CLP Government will:
- Change the law to ensure that a DV offender either:
(a) attends a behaviour change program while serving a mandatory prison term; or
(b) is bailed to a residential program with 24/7 supervision of the offender (not currently occurring) - Introduce laws that provide for extended electronic monitoring of DV offenders, even after a custodial or community sentence has been concluded
- Roll out additional technology tools to provide DV victims with real-time notification of the whereabouts of offenders
- Immediately review all current DV strategies by ensuring the rights of victims are placed above those of offenders
- Remove any current program that has the potential to further endanger victims
- Continue to fund shelters and crisis services and we recognise the value of these services
- We recognise the need to reprioritise funding to ensure women’s legal services are adequately resourced to do their important work
- Implement appropriate “mapping” services to ensure that all Government funding reaches its targets and that victims are prioritised
NOTE: The CLP will continue to monitor this situation and update this policy as required.
[1] Northern Territory Police Crime Statistics
[2] Justice Legislation Amendment (Domestic and Family Violence) Bill 2019
[3] Scrutiny committee transcript