Beaumont Carol: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeBeaumont Carol: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 03 July 2014. Volume:700;Page:19212. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]10.CAROL BEAUMONT (Labour)to the Minister for Social Development: What input did she have on the new suite of initiatives to prevent family violence and keep women and children safe that were announced yesterday?Hon PAULA BENNETT (Minister for Social Development):I had significant input in regard to the announcements that were made yesterday. Actually this is a great opportunity for me to congratulate Minister Collins on her leadership in the justice sector and on the difference that those initiatives will make. I also want to acknowledge Minister Tolley for her leadership within corrections and police. Most certainly I want to acknowledge Minister Turia who has obviously announced her retirement. Her leadership over the last 6 years within social development and the issues of family violence quite frankly has been extraordinary.Carol Beaumont: How does yesterday’s package primarily focused on those who report domestic violence assist the 80 percent of victims of domestic violence who the Women’s Refuge says do not report that violence?Hon PAULA BENNETT: I think that those justice announcements are significant particularly for those who are revictimised and are often the ones who actually end up dead. I think for that we should acknowledge this package as being very vitally important in terms of those next steps. There is a huge amount of work that was announced yesterday particularly from Minister Turia around the current work programme that is really focused on strengthening and improving the cross-agency response. Within that it is a long list so I will not go into it but there is young people’s healthy relationships developing that cross-agency research and evaluation data—there is an agenda that goes on there—raising awareness and changing attitudes and behaviours and improving the whole family violence sector workforce development and training. There are a number of initiatives there that I think will deal with prevention which is obviously where we want to put the biggest emphasis.Carol Beaumont: What NGOs if any were consulted with or even briefed about the social sector initiatives or the Achieving Intergenerational Change—A whole-of-Government approach initiatives announced yesterday?Hon PAULA BENNETT: Actually most of them were based on the work of the expert advisory group which did actually go out to the sector and talk to it extensively. Minister Collins made reference to the family violence ministerial group. She also made reference to the justice symposium that was held earlier this year which had everybody involved including those NGOs. She talked to Shine particularly around those Safe Network ones. We meet regularly with Women’s Refuge and other departments. But at the end of the day Ministers are here to design and implement policy. That is what is expected of us and that is what we have done.Carol Beaumont: Does she agree with the Hon Tariana Turia that “International research indicates that stopping violence from occurring in the first place is the key to the long-term reduction in family violence.”; if so can she explain why the announcement made yesterday had very little focus on prevention with no new initiatives and no new funding in the prevention area?Hon PAULA BENNETT: I encourage the member to actually read the information that is out there on the work that is going on. We will not make apologies for focusing on those who do report violence. As we say more often than not they are revictimised and these are more often than not really the biggest tragedies that happen in this country. So making them safe and putting around them those mechanisms that were announced yesterday is important. But there is a range of work that is going on in the preventative space. We are spending nearly $70 million just within social development. That does not recognise the contributions from ACC the police and other departments that go in. It is our focus. It is where we are going. Cross-agency work including those NGOs is actually where it needs to happen.Carol Beaumont: I seek leave to table Parliamentary Library research showing that three of the initiatives that seem to be the centrepiece of—Mr SPEAKER: Order! Just describe it briefly.Carol Beaumont: —Achieving Intergenerational Change which are the It’s Not OK campaign—Mr SPEAKER: Order! Just briefly describe it and I will put the leave.Carol Beaumont: OK. It is Parliamentary Library research showing that three main initiatives were launched in 2007—Mr SPEAKER: Order! Leave is sought if anybody can sort out exactly what we are tabling. It is parliamentary research information. Leave is sought to table it. Is there any objection? There is objection.Sue Moroney: Has she had any input into the plight of the Sexual Abuse Survivors Trust an organisation with 20 years of experience supporting victims of sexual abuse in Christchurch which has been forced to shut down its service tomorrow because of a $34000 shortfall in funding?Hon PAULA BENNETT: I have answered questions on this organisation in just the last 2 or 3 weeks so obviously yes if the member had taken any notice of that. What we are saying is that there are issues around that provider. It is not our desire to see it shut down. We have ensured that the services will be available for those who need them. We have worked with other NGOs that say they do have the capacity to fill that gap and that have had extra funding through this excellent Government which put more than $10.4 million more into sexual violence services under this latest Budget.