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| Madam Speaker, I move that the bill be now read a second time. The bill before the House reflects this government’s strong commitment to tackling domestic violence in our community. It enables a community response to a community problem. This bill amends the Domestic and Family Violence Act by creating a mandatory reporting law for abuse that occurs within a domestic relationship and causes serious physical harm. The bill was tabled during the September sittings as an exposure draft, to allow public discussion of the proposed amendments before it was formally introduced. The bill generated some public comment and submissions, all of which have been thoroughly considered. This government believes it is the responsibility of every member of our community to help break the cycle of domestic and family violence, and protect women and children from violence. The mandatory reporting law reflects this important responsibility. The Domestic and Family Violence Act was developed with its primary objective being to better protect women and children. When the act was introduced, the previous Attorney-General spoke of the unacceptable tragedy of the lost and ruined lives in the Northern Territory that result from domestic and family violence. One of the key aspects of the Domestic and Family Violence Act is that /domestic violence is defined by the common domestic violence behaviours such as assault, threats and damage to property, as well as reference to a set of behaviours such as economic abuse, sexual assault, stalking, intimidation, coercion, damage to animals, and acts which, if repeated, indicate a continuing pattern of abuse. The inclusion of economic abuse and intimidation in the definition of domestic violence recognised that socially isolating the victim from their normal channels of support and economically depriving them is abusive behaviour, by shaming and undermining the victim’s capacity to take independent action. This government is sending a message to the people of the Northern Territory that any such abuse, perpetrated against women and children within a domestic relationship, is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. This message was made clear in the introduction of the Domestic and Family Violence Act, and now through the introduction of mandatory reporting. The introduction of mandatory reporting is the next step in moving towards a genuine change in the community attitude and behaviour towards domestic and family violence. The amendment will provide further protection to those people who experience abuse and violence within their relationships and families. Mandatory reporting is not about peering over your neighbour’s fence or dobbing people in to the police. It is about no longer ignoring violence and abuse. Mandatory reporting is sending a message to the community, to our friends and to our neighbours, that abuse will no longer be ignored, that we, the community, will no longer remain silent. I will now outline the major features of the bill. The bill amends the Domestic and Family Violence Act 2007 to insert a new section 124A requiring all adults in the Northern Territory to make either a verbal or written report to a police officer if they believe, on reasonable grounds, that either: · a person has caused, or is likely to cause, serious physical harm to another person within a domestic relationship; or · another person’s life or safety is under serious or imminent threat because of domestic violence. The bill creates an offence for failing to make a report, with the defence that the person has a reasonable excuse for not doing so. Such an excuse includes, but is not limited to, reasonably believing one or more of the following: · that another person had also formed the same belief and already made a report to a police officer under section 124A(1); · they were involved in planning to remove the victim from a serious and imminent threat and intended to report once the victim was removed from that threat; · if a report were made as soon as practicable, a serious or imminent threat to someone’s life or safety may result. The maximum penalty for the offence is 200 penalty units, currently a $22 000 fine. The requirement to report applies to domestic violence that inflicts serious physical harm upon a person, which is physical harm, including the cumulative effect of more than one harm, that endangers, or is likely to endanger, a person’s life or that is or is likely to be significant and longstanding. These reporting requirements acknowledge that domestic and family violence is often a hidden crime and that it is not feasible to extend mandatory reporting to abuse that is not clear and visible. These amendments, however, reflect the government’s commitment to ending community acceptance and end the silence that shrouds domestic and family violence. When police receive a report, the police officer must ensure that reasonable steps are taken to investigate the report. In order to alleviate any fears that the person may have about making a report to the police, the bill provides protection by ensuring that any person, who in good faith makes a report to a police officer, cannot be held criminally or civilly liable or in breach of any professional code of conduct. Furthermore, the report, or evidence of its content, is not admissible in proceedings before a court and a person cannot be compelled to give evidence, or to produce a record about the report or the identity of the person who made the report, except by leave of the court. Such leave may only be granted in limited circumstances, being: where the report, evidence or record is of critical importance to the proceedings; and also, where failure to grant the leave would prejudice the proper administration of justice. The bill also rectifies an inconsistency and drafting oversight in the Domestic and Family Violence Act 2007. Currently, if a police officer makes a domestic violence order against a defendant, they may give a copy of the order to the defendant personally. When they do so, the police officer is then required to explain to the defendant the effect and consequences of breach of the order, as well as their right to apply for a review. Currently the act requires the police officer, as far as it is reasonably practical to do so, to provide this explanation both in a language and in terms that are likely to be readily understood by the defendant. This requirement conflicts with the general requirement in the act that any body or person who is issuing an order, for example a police officer or a magistrate, must make the same explanation to persons, such as a defendant or protected person present before them. However, in that case the explanation need only be given either in a language or in terms that are likely to be readily understood by the person. Therefore, the act is amended to provide consistency, whereby the police officer’s explanation to the defendant can either be given in a language or in terms that are likely to be readily understood by the defendant. Additionally, under the Domestic and Family Violence Act 2007 past breaches, being a breach of a restraining order which occurred under the repealed Domestic Violence Act or a breach of a similar order made under a corresponding law in another State, Territory or in New Zealand, cannot be taken into account when determining the penalty for contraventions of domestic violence orders under the act. The bill corrects this technical difficulty and ensures that past breaches of restraining orders under the repealed Domestic Violence Act, as well as past breaches of intestate and New Zealand orders are taken into account when penalties for breaches of domestic violence orders are determined. Madam Speaker, I commend the bill to honourable members. I have tabled a copy of the explanatory statement. Debate adjourned. |