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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 5 Hansard (15 May) . . Page.. 1557 ..

MR WOOD (continuing):

Mr Speaker, these amendments are appropriate. There are not many of them, although there is a fair bit of work there. I repeat that we want to know what else is happening. For example, what is to happen about the extension of protection orders, which was a very important part of these reports? We do not know whether the Government is going to accept that, or when it is going to move on it. We need to know what steps can be taken towards the specialist police unit and/or the specialised training for the police additional to what has happened. We need to know these things. As I endorse these amendments, I urge the Government to keep to the spirit of these very important reports. Tell us what more you are going to do, because I think there is a quite large program ahead of us, so that we can move ahead in this very troubled area and get the very best system that is possible.

MRS LITTLEWOOD (6.38): Domestic violence is a serious and costly problem for our community which can be quantified both socially and economically. Since 1993 all Australian States and Territories have introduced specific legislation to deal with domestic violence, giving public recognition to the fact that violence is unacceptable behaviour under any circumstances.

I would like to congratulate the Government for introducing the nation's toughest domestic violence legislation. This legislation has the potential to significantly diminish the likelihood of repeated offences, and there are two particularly impressive proposals. Firstly, there has been, and in most instances of crime there still is, a presumption that if one has been charged but not yet convicted of a crime one should be eligible for bail. The proposed amendments remove this presumption. In the case of alleged victims of domestic violence, the police granting bail have to state in writing how they have concluded that the alleged victim is no longer in danger. Further, the alleged offender will have to appear in court within 48 hours. This has the effect of giving the alleged victim a chance to request that the bailee be detained.

The other particularly impressive proposal is to allow police to confiscate guns, firearms licences and ammunition from an alleged offender; and people against whom a domestic violence order has been issued or who have been convicted of a domestic violence offence would not be allowed to own a gun for at least 10 years. That is very commendable, I think, Mr Speaker.

There has been a great deal of debate in this house about domestic violence. Most often we have directed these discussions towards the effects it has on the spouse or the partner who has been the victim of this crime. But what have we heard about the impact of domestic violence on the other family members, particularly the children? There is research that indicates that severe childhood trauma is something which the majority of female prison inmates have suffered. One study I am referring to in particular relates to the population of female prisoners in South Australia. It was made by W.J. Craig and is entitled "Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Female Prison Population".

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