6. Question No. 6—Prevention of Family and Sexual ViolenceHon GINNY ANDERSEN (Labour) to the Minister for the Prevention of Family and Sexual ViolenceQuestion No. 6—Prevention of Family and Sexual ViolenceSPEAKER: Question No. 6—and I make the same comment that I made before: these are sensitive matters in these questions and they should be treated appropriately by the House.6. Hon GINNY ANDERSEN (Labour) to the Minister for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence: Does she stand by her statement I expect people to be able to get the right response for their needs"?Hon KAREN CHHOUR (Minister for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence): Yes in the context in which I said it which was in an answer to written questions regarding family harm call-outs.Hon Ginny Andersen: When was she informed that police are stepping back from attending family violence call-outs now that this is being done—quote from police—"regardless of the readiness of partner agencies" and they have warned that this may result "in poor safety outcomes or a threat to life"?Hon KAREN CHHOUR: I would just say that we need to be really careful when it comes to this matter and how we're addressing this matter. Police will always have a role to play when it comes to responding to violence including family violence or where there has been a crime or where someone is in immediate danger. This is not changing. I want to make it clear to the people that they should always feel that they can call police and to suggest that police will not respond risks undermining this.Hon Ginny Andersen: Point of order Mr Speaker. I asked when she was informed. I don't think that answer even addressed that.Hon Kieran McAnulty: That's fair.SPEAKER: Yeah in your view but you weren't asked to rule on it. And you know that when these matters occur I generally give the Minister an opportunity to say something further. But you can't expect every time to take a point of order saying the question wasn't answered. It may not be answered to the member's satisfaction but it's an important issue and so the Minister can speak again if she wishes.Hon KAREN CHHOUR: I don't have that exact date in front of me.Hon Ginny Andersen: Is she concerned that police have investigated approximately 3000 fewer family violence incidents since December 2023 and that this will further decrease the current reporting rate of family violence; if not why not?Hon KAREN CHHOUR: Sorry I just missed a little bit of that. Would I be able to hear the question again?SPEAKER: Yes certainly.Hon Ginny Andersen: Is she concerned that police have investigated approximately 3000 fewer family violence incidents since December 2023 and that this will further decrease the current reporting rate of family violence; if not why not?Hon KAREN CHHOUR: I think we all know that there has been a workforce capacity and capability issue across the board when it comes to the family and sexual violence space. We as a Government are working and are under way on improving our systems to build a more capable workforce to ensure that the appropriate responses to family and sexual violence happen. And what I would expect is that people are getting the right response for their needs. Because the police are not investigating certain things does not mean other agencies are not stepping in when it is their job to be dealing with that particular issue.Hon Ginny Andersen: What action has she taken as the Minister responsible for the prevention of family and sexual violence to ensure people do get the right response to their needs given that police have advised that some family violence incidents will not be responded to by other providers and police have stated: "This will be damaging to trust and confidence if people who expect help can no longer access it."?Hon KAREN CHHOUR: What we do know is that family and sexual violence is a very complicated space and it's not just up to one ministry to deal with this. As the Minister for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence I've made my expectations clear that agencies work collectively on matters regarding family violence and sexual violence and whenever there are suggested changes in this space I would expect all agencies to be considering the implications of this and work through the outcomes and consequences of it.Hon Ginny Andersen: How can she stand by her statement that she expects people to be able to access the right response to their needs when she has made no Budget bids for the prevention of family violence this Government is gutting agencies who support the victims of family violence and now police are stepping back from the lead partner in family violence with no services in place to take up that gap?Hon KAREN CHHOUR: I do stand by that statement. People should be getting the response to their needs. Almost a billion dollars has been invested into family violence and sexual violence in the period from 2018 to 2023. This funding helps stabilise front-line services strengthen the way the Government was working and improve a range of services available but before seeking further investment I want to make sure that that funding is delivering as much as it can in the right place and we know it's effective."