16 May 2024
The NSW Opposition is calling on the Minns Labor Government to take strong and urgent
action on domestic violence, after it delayed strengthening the state’s bail laws.
Liberal and Nationals MPs were prepared to push the Government’s new bail bill through
Parliament this week, in order to increase protections for women and children as soon as
possible.
But Labor and the Greens refused to back the move, which means the changes won’t be
looked at for at least another month.
NSW Nationals Leader and Member for the Dubbo electorate Dugald Saunders said we
need swift and decisive action when it comes to addressing the scourge of gendered
violence gripping the state.
“We all know the shameful statistics that almost 30 women have lost their lives at the hands
of a former or current partner this year, and our communities are calling for help,” Mr
Saunders said.
“The Government didn’t want to work with us on our proposed bill last week, and now it
doesn’t want to work with us on its own proposal this week, which begs the question, what
are we waiting for?
“Every day that goes past is another day that women in NSW go unprotected.”
Mr Saunders said the Premier needs to put people’s needs before politics.
“We have heard of the tragedies that have occurred across NSW and we have also seen
similar experiences here” Mr Saunders said.
“We know it can be harder for women to leave abusive relationships when the live in the
country because they often have nowhere else to go and we simply can’t continue to sit on
our hands.
“The women in our community want us to work together on this issue, but unfortunately we
aren’t seeing the level of bipartisanship or urgency from the Government that we need to
deal with this important issue.”