Supervised leave from Thomas Embling

Triple murderer Peko Lakovski was granted leave from Thomas Embling maximum security forensic facility, despite having killed two people while previously on a program of leave. I'm further horrified that the victims' family members were not officially informed of the leave. The process is archaic, deeply insensitive and one that prioritises the interests of offenders over their victims, compromising community safety. I want clear answers on who is held accountable when the release of these offenders results in further crime.

Men's Referral Service

The Government allocated significant funding to the arrangements for taking family violence perpetrators (or potential perpetrators) from their homes to other short-term or long-term accommodation.  Recently, an accused perpetrator of family violence (who denied all such claims against him) was immediately removed from his home and then taken to a police station, at which point multiple phone calls were made to the Men’s Referral Service in an attempt to try to find different housing opportunities for him. There was simply no answer to any of these calls and, as a consequence, the man slept on the floor and chairs in a cold police station. I asked the Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence why the Men's Referral Service does not seem to be a 24 hour, 7-day a week service.

right@home

The right@home early intervention trial, in which sustained home visits build parenting capacity to improve child safety and school readiness, was developed by Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth (ARACY)  in collaboration with TReSI, the Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne, and the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute. I had the pleasure to meet with representatives of ARACY recently to discuss the early indicators, which at two years found participating children had more regular bedtimes, safer home environments and experienced warmer parenting. There were positive protective effects found at the four-year mark, and the five-six year analysis is underway.

COVID-19 vaccine supplies

A GP contacted me with concerns about the quantity of COVID-19 vaccinations allocated to their surgery. They were advised by the Federal Government that their allocation of the vaccine will be 50 doses, so it could potentially be 2024 before all priority residents in their area are vaccinated. I asked the Minister for Health to outline what the plan is between State and Federal Governments so that local GPs can organise and inform their patients.

ANROWS study on adolescent violence

ANROWS has been funded to undertake a detailed project identifying and tracking the needs of families from marginalised populations who may be experiencing adolescent violence in the home. Most current interventions and responses continue to focus on specific adolescent violence incidents themselves rather than setting them in the wider context of all that is happening within the relevant family. The purpose of this project will be to compile a range of evidence to aid more effective intervention – especially through a whole-of-family, collaborative practice framework that relevant individuals and organisations can ultimately administer. I have been a strong advocate for early intervention to reduce and prevent youth adolescent violence in the family home since I began my journey in the Legislative Council.

Emergency notifications

Residents continue to report to me their ongoing frustration with internet blackspots that hamper emergency information. When emergency notifications are delivered by text, general information is provided with a link to further detail. In areas where internet reception is unreliable, more detail needs to be included in the text information to ensure residents are properly informed. I hope the Government will review the system and include more information in the detail of emergency text notifications.

Picture: Bruce Hore, Bright & District Chamber of Commerce