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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 14 Hansard (11 December) . . Page.. 4899 ..

Thursday, 11 December 1997

__________________________

MR SPEAKER (Mr Cornwell) took the chair at 10.30 am and asked members to stand in silence and pray or reflect on their responsibilities to the people of the Australian Capital Territory.

LEAVE OF ABSENCE TO MEMBERS

Motion (by Mr Stefaniak) agreed to:

That leave of absence from 12 December 1997 to 20 February 1998 inclusive be given to all members.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE (AMENDMENT) BILL (NO. 4) 1997

MR STEFANIAK (Minister for Education and Training) (10.33): On behalf of the Attorney-General, I present the Domestic Violence (Amendment) Bill (No. 4) 1997, together with the explanatory memorandum to this Bill and the Magistrates Court (Amendment) Bill (No. 3) 1997.

Title read by Clerk.

MR STEFANIAK: Mr Speaker, I move:

That this Bill be agreed to in principle.

This Bill and the two Bills that follow are a package aimed at extending the protective nature of the Domestic Violence Act 1986, particularly in situations where there is an ongoing risk to victims. This Bill amends the principal legislation, which was only recently amended by Ms Tucker. These amendments refine further the legislation by replacing all the grounds for obtaining a protection order in section 4 of the Act with one simple ground, that is, that the respondent engaged in conduct, in respect of the aggrieved person, which constituted domestic violence under the Act. The amendments will not only serve to extend the protective nature of the Act but also provide greater consistency with the provisions relating to restraining orders.

A definition of domestic violence has been inserted in the legislation to ensure that the range of conduct covered by the legislation is clear. This enables an applicant to rely on a broader range of conduct that may not constitute a specific offence, such as threatening conduct not otherwise included in the definition of "domestic violence offence". This particular amendment serves to enhance the integrity of the Act by extending the protection of the Act more broadly to cover conduct which is not overt or physical.

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