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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2024-02-20 Daily Xml
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Domestic and Family Violence

Mr TEAGUE (Heysen) (15:23): Last November in a single week in South Australia, four women lost their lives in circumstances of domestic and family violence—a horrendous week and in the context of a still-terrible toll each year.

In January this year, we paid our respects gathered on the steps of parliament, including many participants from this chamber and from the other place, and commemorated the deaths of so many women. In January, 71 women were recognised and identified publicly—their lives and what happened to them—as women from across our state stood in solidarity to recognise that terrible stain on our community and to stand in solidarity towards achieving improvement to doing better.

Moved as we all were by that terrible week in November, I stand to salute the calls that at that time were led by South Australia's peak body and its leader, Mary Leaker, the founder and leader of the Zahra Foundation, Arman Abrahimzadeh, and other leaders, for a royal commission to be established in South Australia to examine how we can improve. I was proud to stand with them in November to make those calls.

In December last year, the government agreed to move towards the establishment of a royal commission. There is important work to be done, and the government made clear at that time that it was committed to moving with expedition to establish the commission with a view to undertaking and completing work according to relevant terms of reference within a short period, and the government has committed $3 million towards doing so.

Members will recall that in mid-December last year the local media reported that the government had undertaken to finalise those terms of reference and to appoint the commissioner, at that time by mid-February. At the end of January this year, in further media engagement, we were told that that would be done this month, in February, and we are here looking forward to those important steps to be taken.

I want to recognise the government's undertaking to share with the peak body, Embolden, draft terms of reference for its consideration in particular and input before those terms of reference are finalised. Time is moving along. We are here, on 20 February, and I understand that draft terms of reference, if they have been prepared, have not been yet shared by the government, and it is very important that they are and it is important that Embolden has that chance to provide input to those draft terms of reference. Of course, it is important that a commissioner is identified and appointed with expedition so that that work can be undertaken.

Sometimes, the worst of circumstances move people to demand that action be taken by government. The undertaking is there; we must now see progress towards the establishment of the royal commission.

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