In Western Australia, Labor is promising to make it easier for victim-survivors to get family violence restraining orders if they win the next election. It's a move welcomed by the sector, but criticised by the Liberals, who say there are more practical changes which could have a bigger impact.
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00:00Every year, thousands of victim survivors turn to the courts for family violence restraining
00:07orders.
00:08It's a system WA Labor is promising to improve if re-elected in March.
00:12The party pledging to expand the number of offences which are eligible for lifetime orders
00:17and to require judges to consider a lifelong order whenever it's an option.
00:22So the victim won't have to be present, won't have to engage a lawyer or won't have to stand
00:28up herself for heaven's sake in front of the perpetrator and ask for a lifetime order.
00:34Labor also promising to expand a program helping victim survivors stay in their homes and build
00:3918 new refuge units in Geraldton and Albany in response to pleas for help from refuges
00:45across the state.
00:46We are listening to their needs and this announcement today reaffirms our commitment as a re-elected
00:52Labor government to continue to support them.
00:55The Liberals aren't convinced saying restraining order breaches are on the rise, calling for
00:59a focus on enforcement instead.
01:01We need a full complement in our family and domestic violence unit within police.
01:07We need tougher bail laws and coercive control legislation which has only been talked about
01:13by the Cook Labor government but never delivered on.
01:16The sector is pleased with Labor's pledges but is hoping for more with refuges bottlenecked
01:21and struggling to move people into transitional homes.
01:24Even once we've supported a family to safety, there is nowhere safe for them to go and it
01:29means that we are a 24-7 high risk refuge so the families who need us the most are not
01:36able to get in.
01:37The Centre for Women's Safety and Wellbeing also welcomed the promises saying the next
01:41step is more direct support for victim survivors.
01:44When women and children actually leave the person who's causing them harm, that risk
01:50can really escalate at that time and so we must ensure that those supports are there
01:55and are continued.
01:56The Liberals have previously promised to increase GPS tracking of repeat offenders if elected.