Domestic violence agencies

The ACT Government’s Domestic Violence Agencies (Information Sharing) Amendment Bill 2023 passed the Legislative Assembly yesterday.

Agencies will have a shared legal framework to share relevant information to prevent and reduce violence and intervene earlier, to keep victim-survivors of domestic and family violence safe and hold perpetrators accountable, Yvette Berry, ACT Minister for the Prevention of Family and Domestic Violence, said.

“These new laws mean that government agencies will be able to identify domestic and family violence risks earlier, and intervene earlier, so that people can get the support they need sooner,” Ms Berry said.

“This legislative change will allow government agencies and law enforcement to communicate with each other more effectively to identify, assess, prevent and respond to risks of domestic and family violence. The reform brings the rules around information-sharing in the ACT into line with the majority of other States and Territories.

“This will support more coordinated safety measures for people at risk of domestic and family violence.”

Coercive control motion fails

Canberra Liberals MLA Leanne Castley, Deputy Opposition Leader and Shadow Minister for Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence, called on the government to implement an education campaign on coercive control.

“Coercive control is a form of domestic and family violence characterised by abusive behaviour designed to exercise domination in a relationship,” Ms Castley said. “It precedes almost all intimate partner domestic violence homicides…

“Criminalising coercive control in the ACT, and educating the community about this form of abuse, is a critical step towards cultural change and saving lives.”

Her motion was amended by the government; the Liberals did not support those amendments.

“What a slap in the face to Canberra families,” Ms Castley said. “The Minister is committed to ‘going slow’ on criminalising coercive control.”

NSW, Queensland, and Tasmania have passed legislation criminalising coercive control, and WA and SA are developing or considering it, but Ms Castley said the ACT government was “sitting on its hands”.

Ms Castley also called on the government to commit additional funding in the 2024-25 budget to frontline domestic violence services: in particular, to expanding ACT Policing’s Family Violence Unit.

The Australian Federal Police Association supported the introduction of coercive control legislation, stating that rates of family and domestic violence were climbing in the ACT, and that police needed more funding and resources to investigate the offences.

Registry marriages motion passes

ACT Labor MLA Michael Pettersson’s motion calling on the government to investigate the establishment of registry marriages in the ACT passed the Assembly.

In all jurisdictions except the ACT and Tasmania, the government offers a registry marriage service “where couples can tie the knot in an affordable, simple, and easy ceremony”, Mr Pettersson said.

Marriages in the ACT are performed by either a Commonwealth registered marriage celebrant or a minister of religion recognised by Access Canberra; however, the rising cost of weddings in the ACT has increased demand from couples for simple government-facilitated marriages. In other jurisdictions, the government can facilitate registry marriages in either their Births, Deaths and Marriages office, or in government-owned spaces that can accommodate a simple ceremony. Access Canberra does not perform marriage ceremonies.

“In this cost-of-living crisis, being in love shouldn’t cost Canberrans an arm and a leg,” Mr Pettersson said.

“Registry marriages will provide a low-cost, public option for couples looking to be wed in the ACT.

“Because being in love shouldn’t have to break the bank.”

Rental homes

Forty-five new affordable rental properties are being built in Canberra’s inner north, part of a joint venture between Canberra PCYC, CHC and the Snow Foundation to deliver a Build-to-Rent project on the site of the former PCYC community hub in Turner, Ms Berry announced.

Canberra PCYC, CHC and the Snow Foundation also propose to develop 10 social housing units for people aged 16 to 24 years old and a social enterprise café on the site.

The Government intends to support the 45 affordable rentals as part of its $60 million Affordable Housing Project Fund, subject to the project progressing through planning approvals.

The Government established the Affordable Housing Project Fund in 2023 to grow the supply of affordable rental properties in Canberra and strengthen the community housing sector.

Greens call for Belconnen Town Centre school

Jo Clay, ACT Greens MLA for Ginninderra, Jo Clay, will today call on the ACT Government to build a much needed primary and secondary school for Belconnen Town Centre’s growing population.

“Belconnen Town Centre is one of the fastest growing areas in Canberra, but it still doesn’t have a primary or a secondary school,” said Ms Clay.

“Many parents want their kids to be able to walk or ride to school. But at the moment, this would mean up to two hours of travel per day, just to get your kid to and from the “local” school.

“More families are moving into the area, but they have to look elsewhere for their kids’ education.”

Almost 600 students from the Belconnen Town Centre attend Macquarie Primary or Florey Primary –than a half-hour’s walk from the town centre, so not local, Ms Clay said. More than 3,300 homes are expected to be built in the area in the next decade, and those families will need quality schools, she added.  

Both the Belconnen Community Council and the ACT Council of Parents and Citizens Associations have asked the government to prioritise building a new primary and secondary school.