Former Governor-General, the Honourable Quentin Bryce AD CVO, will chair a Special Taskforce on domestic and family violence that will undertake a comprehensive and co-ordinated review to make Queensland as safe and secure as possible for women and families.
Premier Campbell Newman announced the establishment of the Special Taskforce that will lead state-wide consultation with the community on this insidious and hidden form of violence and strive to highlight the community’s role in changing the current attitudes to domestic and family violence.
Mr Newman welcomed Ms Bryce to the role and said he was delighted that she had accepted his offer to lead such an important review.
“As part of its commitment to making Queensland a safer place to live, the Queensland Government wants to take the strongest lead possible in reducing and preventing domestic and family violence and ensure that there is timely and appropriate support for victims,” Mr Newman said.
“Reports of domestic violence in Queensland continue to rise and many perpetrators of domestic abuse disregard domestic and family violence court orders. We want to make sure that we have a better coordinated response to these crimes and that those who inflict domestic and family violence are held accountable.”
Ms Bryce said she was honoured to take a leading role in reviewing such a prominent community safety issue.
“All Queenslanders need to help tackle this problem. We all have a responsibility to look after one another because domestic and family violence is everybody’s business,” Ms Bryce said.
“Domestic and family violence mostly occurs in the privacy of people’s homes but it has a profound public impact socially and economically, especially on vulnerable women and children.”
Mr Newman said Ms Bryce would chair a bipartisan task force that would include Members of Parliament and community representatives.
The Taskforce will undertake extensive, state-wide consultation with communities, families, individuals, government, non-government organisations and other key stakeholders.
The Taskforce will report to the Premier by the end of February 2015 with recommendations to inform the development of a domestic and family violence strategy.
Minister for Communities and Child Safety Tracy Davis said the Queensland Government was committed to raising awareness about domestic and family violence and empowering the community to get involved.
“There is simply no excuse for domestic violence but we need to remain vigilant if we want Queensland to be the safest place to raise a family,” Ms Davis said.
“Change happens when the community challenges the attitudes and behaviours of this heinous crime and together we can achieve this.”
