Michelle Landry (Capricornia, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Moreton for raising the issue of domestic violence. I agree with the sentiments that victims of domestic violence need to be protected against further trauma when seeking justice.

There are few places in Queensland that witness higher rates of domestic violence than in my electorate of Capricornia. The Capricornia police district reports the highest rate of domestic violence in Queensland. One of the most shameful areas is north Rockhampton. According to Rockhampton police the rate of domestic violence attacks there is 141 per cent higher than the state average.

Adults must accept responsibility for their own actions. Under no circumstances are domestic violence acceptable. Practices that advance the plight of victims—families and children—caught up in the cycle of family abuse are worthwhile discussing at a political level. However, I find the Labor Party's sudden interest in the subject of domestic violence to be hypocritical. Last year, to assist families in trauma that were caught up in the cycle of domestic violence and other Family Court matters, the Turnbull-Joyce government took a bold and positive step to appoint a permanent Federal Circuit Court judge to be based in Rockhampton. Judge Anne Demack held her first sitting on 7 March, presided over by the Chief Judge of the Federal Circuit Court, His Honour Judge John Pascoe. I lobbied hard for the Commonwealth Attorney-General to make this appointment in a city where family violence is out of control. This appointment was both supported and hailed by the Central Queensland Law Association as the most significant decision for the legal industry in Capricornia in over 40 years. It directly helps some of the most disadvantaged families that are caught up in the cycle of domestic violence and subsequent custody and family law disputes.

The new permanent Federal Circuit Court judge services all of Central Queensland, including Rockhampton, Mackay, Gladstone and Emerald. But the Labor Party were against this appointment. They actually criticised it. Queensland's state Labor Attorney-General, Yvette D'Ath, and the federal shadow Attorney-General both denigrated the appointment of the new judge in Rockhampton. D'Ath threatened to stop the judge operating out of Rockhampton's court precinct unless the federal government built an entire new courthouse. This ignorant and backward approach was egged on in Canberra by federal Labor. The shadow Attorney-General has no regard for the victims of domestic violence in Rockhampton, otherwise he would have supported this appointment. After all, Rockhampton is rattled by the highest rates of domestic violence outside of Brisbane.

We know that Labor fails to care for Central Queensland, because in the recent federal election the federal Labor candidate and the Leader of the Opposition failed to back job-creating projects like Rookwood weir or the construction of a five- to six-storey car park at Rockhampton Base Hospital. Estimates suggest that Rookwood weir would have created up to 2,500 new jobs for the region, while the hospital board informed me only last week that the construction of a new car park—an investment of at least $21 million—would create many further jobs.

We know that stress in any family facing tough financial times is one of the catalysts for domestic violence. Today the people of Capricornia can clearly see that the Labor Party have failed to support both the appointment of a Federal Circuit Court judge to Rockhampton and big infrastructure. They have failed to back initiatives that would lead to more jobs for our community and thereby possibly help alleviate family financial stress, which is a catalyst for domestic violence. In the so-called Labor heartland that is Rockhampton city, the Labor Party have failed the most vulnerable families at a time when they need jobs and Federal Circuit Court time the most. High-profile lawyers and barristers tell me that both Labor's state Attorney-General and federal Labor's shadow Attorney-General were offensive and out of order. Labor would rather that nothing happened in the city of Rockhampton than give credit to the coalition's positive steps to appoint a permanent Federal Circuit Court judge to help families in crisis.

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