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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1999 Week 13 Hansard (9 December) . . Page.. 4260 ..

The Assembly voted -

AYES, 9  	NOES, 8

Ms Carnell 	Mr Berry
Mr Cornwell 	Mr Corbell
Mr Hird 	Mr Hargreaves
Mr Humphries 	Mr Kaine
Mr Moore 	Mr Quinlan
Mr Osborne 	Mr Stanhope
Mr Rugendyke 	Ms Tucker
Mr Smyth 	Mr Wood
Mr Stefaniak

Question so resolved in the affirmative.

Amendment agreed to.

MS TUCKER (2.06 am): I move:

This amendment provides for financial assistance for victims unable to continue to perform unpaid domestic work and child care in the section dealing with incapacity for work. This was a recommendation of the committee's inquiry into the Bill as well. Four members of this house not known for social radicalism, in fact, recognise the importance of this issue. In his presentation speech the Minister described the proposals in this Bill as being based on the real needs of victims. But in his response to the committee's report, he rejected this recommendation exclusively on an estimate of cost.

The real result of victims being unable to continue to perform unpaid domestic work and child care is that someone will have to do it. It is a loss of income in a very real sense, or children will not be cared for properly, or families will be in crisis. The victim support working party in 1998 made considerable play on the notion of equity. It drew attention to the significance of individual circumstance in delivering appropriate support to victims. The overwhelming number of victims of extremely serious crime are women. By and large, they are victims of sexual assault and domestic violence. Almost always, of course, they are the primary providers of unpaid domestic work and child care.

In very many instances they have low incomes. They are often from single adult households. We know this from research; we know this from experience. We should not penalise women for their poverty, penalise women for their children, or penalise women for their vulnerability. I urge members of the Assembly, including the members of the

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