Michelle Landry (Capricornia, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for raising the issue of domestic violence. I agree with the sentiments that family violence should be a national priority—and indeed it is. As I have said before, there are few places in Queensland that witness higher rates of domestic violence than my electorate of Capricornia. The Capricornia police district reports the highest rate of domestic violence in Queensland. While the statistics are marginally improving, according to Rockhampton police the rate of domestic violence attacks here is 141 per cent higher than the state average.

Last year, to assist families in trauma caught up in the cycle of domestic violence and other Family Court matters, the Turnbull-Joyce government took a bold and positive step to appoint a permanent Federal Court Circuit judge to be based in Rockhampton. Judge Anne Demack held her first sitting on 7 March, presided over by the Chief Judge of the Federal Circuit Court, his Honour Judge John Pascoe.

I lobbied hard for the Commonwealth Attorney-General to make this appointment, in a city where family violence is out of control. This appointment was both supported and hailed by the Central Queensland Law Association as the most significant decision for the legal industry in Capricornia in over 40 years. It directly helps some of the most disadvantaged families that are caught up in the cycle of domestic violence, and subsequent custody and family law disputes.

The new permanent Federal Court Circuit judge services all of Central Queensland, including Rockhampton, Mackay, Gladstone and Emerald. But, to my surprise, this was criticised by the state Labor government. Queensland's state Labor Attorney-General, Yvette D'Ath, and the federal opposition's shadow Attorney-General, the member for Isaacs, both denigrated the appointment of a new federal judge in Rockhampton. They were more concerned about bricks and mortar than the safety and survival of victims and the improved and more timely access to a Family Court judge in a regional area with the worst record for family violence.

An article dated 17 February this year in the Queensland Times reports:

Queensland Attorney-General Yvette D'Ath has accused her federal counterpart, Senator George Brandis, of incorrectly referring to a Rockhampton courtroom as vacant and refusing to contact her about courthouse arrangements for the judge, Anne Demack.

… … …

"There is no vacant courtroom," she told Queensland Parliament …

That was a load of rubbish. In the same article, it was reported:

Federal Circuit Court of Australia chief Richard Foster told the committee he wrote to the Queensland Justice Department's Deputy Director-General and to Ms D'Ath.

"I received a response on 7 January saying, 'services are limited but basically we do have some capacity; …

"Now that (Sen Brandis) has made the announcement … we can accommodate it."

So there was room at the inn after all—albeit be it with renovations, which the Commonwealth was happy to pay for.

In February, the Brisbane Timesreported Queensland's Attorney-General as saying Judge Demack's appointment was 'an empty gesture to serve a cynical political purpose'.

Well, today, on the topic that domestic violence needs to be a national priority, can the member of Isaacs please explain what on earth his state counterpart means and why he too objected to the appointment? The Liberal-National coalition is standing up for the most vulnerable in our community, an area hit by the highest domestic violence rates in the state, while the Labor Party say appointing a permanent judge to Rockhampton is cynical. That is just rubbish. Do they want these families to travel to Brisbane and wait years for a chance to front a judge to arbitrate family disputes and violence? In the so-called Labor heartland that is Rockhampton city, the Labor Party has failed the most vulnerable families at a time when they most need faster access to the Federal Court.

The positive steps the government are taking include the recent announcement at the COAG summit that we would commit $100 million to Commonwealth initiatives under the Third Action Plan, including $20 million for preventative strategies and cultural change; $15 million for front-line services like housing and financial support; $10 million to prevent forms of sexual violence, including nonconsensual sharing of intimate images; $25 million to address family violence in Indigenous communities; and $30 million for front-line family violence legal services.

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