Pauline Hanson (Queensland, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Hansard source

Just to add my experience to it, I visited the Southport court last week, which is a specialised court—we have about five in Queensland—that deals with domestic violence. I can't remember the name of the senator who raised this issue, but, just to bring this to the notice of the house, in the specialised court they actually do have special areas. If people have concerns about attending the court, they notify the court and security guards go outside and escort them into the courthouse. There is a section for men to sit and there is a section for women to sit. There's also a special area that people, men or women, can go to if they're very concerned or traumatised or they have any problems. We are addressing those concerns. The merger of the two courts is not—if Women's Legal Services is raising as a concern that the merger of the two courts shouldn't go ahead purely based on safety, nothing's going to change; whether we leave the system the way it is now or whether we merge the two courts, it is not going to change. But they have been addressing the concerns of any Australians, men and women, who are faced with domestic violence to ensure their safety, and they provide that safety to them.