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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2022-06-15 Daily Xml
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Victim Support Service

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY (15:16): My question is to the—the performance of the opposition left me stunned.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY: My question is to the Attorney-General. Will the Attorney-General inform the council about the recent funding announcement for victim support services in the South-East?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Attorney-General, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector) (15:17): I thank the honourable member for his excellent question in relation to victim support services. Having returned with my colleagues, including the Hon. Clare Scriven, who hails from the South-East in Port MacDonnell, to the South-East country cabinet with other members of the cabinet, it was an excellent opportunity to have a look at the important issues that affect regional South Australia, particularly the South-East.

At the community forum that was held, there were hundreds of people and it was standing room only. It showed the huge interest that regional South Australians have in engaging with government after four long years of the former Liberal government scrapping country cabinets and not being able to have that direct engagement.

I think I spoke yesterday of the fact that the members of the Liberal Party laud that one or two have gone to country areas. This is an opportunity in regional areas for regional constituents to hear from the whole of the cabinet and chief executives. It is something that I know when Labor was last in government was very much appreciated by regional South Australia, to have that opportunity to hear not just from the cabinet ministers but also from the chief executives who are there.

It is valuable for people living in the regional areas to get that sort of access to decision-makers, to ministers and to chief executives, but it is also, and perhaps even more so, invaluable for ministers and chief executives, so that they can understand directly the issues that are facing so many people in country areas. That's why I was pleased to be a part of the South-East community cabinet last week, and we had an opportunity to hear not just from constituents but from local decision-makers. It used to be called SELGA and now I think it is the Limestone Coast Local Government Association. The members who make up those local governments from around the South-East presented to cabinet to discuss the issues that are important to them and their associations, which was extraordinarily valuable for both ministers and chief executives alike.

I am especially pleased that in areas where I have responsibility, I was able to meet directly with people involved in those areas. One of those areas is in relation to victim support services and I am very pleased to be the Attorney-General in the Malinauskas government that is boosting victim support services to South Australia and also in particular to the South-East. The Victim Support Service has now received an additional $250,000 a year for the next four years to better support victims of crime across regional and metropolitan areas of South Australia.

For decades the Victim Support Service has played an invaluable role in supporting victims in this state. It was formed in 1979 and is a world leader in the work it does. The Victim Support Service has been advocating for and delivering high-quality trauma-informed services and justice support for victims of crime and abuse. The current chair of the Victim Support Service, Cecilla White, and the entire team are doing fantastic work developing programs including one around the National Redress Scheme where adult survivors of institutional childhood abuse are guided through the application process.

These independent and volunteer-run services provide invaluable support to victims as they work their way through the justice system. This new government funding—after it was cut by the last government—to the Victim Support Service will target services right across South Australia, but including specifically to regional South Australia, including Mount Gambier. The funding will facilitate the expansion of existing programs such as court companions, which coordinates volunteers to provide support to victims in court when they provide evidence and are dealing with the justice system. This program is open to adults, children and young people and is a free and confidential service.

I was pleased, as part of my time in the South-East, to meet not just with the CEO of the Victim Support Service but, even more critically, with a number of volunteers in Mount Gambier who provide court companion services. These are people who give up their time to help guide victims of crime and their families and witnesses through the criminal justice system. Some of the work these volunteers do is quite remarkable. They are interacting with people at some of the most distressing times in their lives when they have been victims of serious crime.

I particularly want to pay tribute to the volunteers that I met, but not just the ones that I met in Mount Gambier, the volunteers right across South Australia who give their time particularly for areas like the Victim Support Service and the court companion service. It was also interesting and valuable to hear about how they support each other in terms of providing that support. Obviously, when you are dealing with people going through traumatic experiences, it has an effect on you, and to see the level of support that was provided to each other was welcomed.

The Safer Spaces initiative is another program which will benefit from this funding, in assisting people to disclose, report and navigate the legal system. This program was in fact founded in Mount Gambier through local philanthropic funding from Soroptimist International and OneFortyOne, where six volunteers provided support for the writing of victim impact statements. As people know, the South-East is a number of hours from Adelaide and it is important that these services are provided in a personalised and professional way, as they are by the Victim Support Service.

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