‘We don’t have time’: Minns rules out royal commission into domestic violence
By Max Maddison and Alexandra Smith
Premier Chris Minns has ruled out a royal commission into domestic and family violence, saying the government doesn’t have the time necessary, and the money required for it needs to be injected immediately into the sector.
As Minns announced his government’s $230 million funding package for domestic violence prevention, Women’s and Domestic Violence Minister Jodie Harrison revealed that a federal government-funded program to hire 118 specialist workers had only attracted five employees since June last year.
NSW Premier Chris Minns says the state won’t hold a royal commission into domestic violence.Credit: Oscar Colman
Minns said calls for a royal commission were “valid”, particularly as a means of trying to “solve this entrenched” problem, but he believed an upfront response was necessary.
“Firstly, it costs money and it takes time. And we’ve made a decision, having worked closely with the domestic violence sector and other stakeholders in the community, that we don’t have any time, the money’s got to get into the sector straight away,” he said on Monday.
“We haven’t made that decision lightly. We certainly haven’t brushed off calls for the royal commission ... but I’ve got confidence in the domestic violence prevention sector in NSW who knows what they’re doing, they just need the funds to get away.”
The funding package was designed to be a “long-term sustainable investment” in the prevention of domestic violence, the premier said, adding the funding commitment would help the sector plan for the future.
Two weeks after the death of 28-year-old Molly Ticehurst, allegedly at the hands of her partner in Forbes, Minns responded to the intense pressure for reform by rolling out the funding package over the next four years, including nearly $50 million to help women and children remain in their homes after ending a violent relationship.
While Minns declined to provide specifics into how the $45 million set aside for improving bail laws and how the justice system responds to domestic violence would be spent, he said the government would not wait for a review of the state’s bail laws to announce legislation, saying a policy response was “not far away”.
The premier reiterated the funding package was just the “first step” of the government’s response, foreshadowing a further housing announcement in the June budget. But asked how the government would define success, he referred to the experience of Victoria, where domestic violence in the community had declined since the state’s 2015 royal commission.
“Whereas we’ve gone the other way, and had an increase over the same period. Now that’s a legacy and a record that we have to take responsibility for. It means that we need a criminal justice response as well as a funding response,” he said.
With $24 million set aside for hiring specialist domestic violence support workers within the justice system, Harrison said only being able to hire four per cent of the 118 specialist staff was reflective of “considerable” consultation and analysis.
The low figure came a day after Finance Minister Katy Gallagher told the ABC the aggregate number of staff hired by all states was only 30 out of a promised 500, despite the money being paid out in June and at the end of last year.
“So the money is there,” she said on Sunday, noting the funding agreement was for the “vast majority” of those positions to be in place in the first half of 2024.
“The state’s view is they’re having issues with recruiting but [Social Services Minster] Amanda Rishworth has been working with her state and territory colleagues to really try and get these workers in place as soon as possible.”
The recruitment problem was underlined by the Benevolent Society chief executive Lin Hatfield Dodds, who appeared alongside Minns on Monday. The sector’s workforce was “running at around 20 per cent undercooked”, she said, with a number of workers who left during the pandemic yet to return.
“In terms of specialists, domestic violence workers, we don’t have them ... on ice in a cool box somewhere ready to activate,” she said.
Delia Donovan, the chief executive of peak body Domestic Violence NSW, said the government’s package was a “considered first step” but more work and funding was needed.
Donovan said a critical missing element of the package was a focus on housing and homelessness, with Domestic Violence NSW urging the government to spend an extra $52 million each year on existing domestic and family violence refuges.
If you or someone you know is affected by sexual assault, domestic or family violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732.
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