Barnett Tim: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Barnett Tim: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:619;Page:15162] 
10.  
TIM BARNETT (Labour—Christchurch Central) 
 to the  
Minister of Justice 
: What steps are being taken to establish an effective response by Government agencies to family violence? 
Hon PHIL GOFF (Minister of Justice) 
: 
 To be most effective agency responses to family violence need to be coordinated and comprehensive and to maximise preventive action. Consequently I have announced today a $15 million pilot involving family safety teams to be established initially in the Wairarapa Hutt Valley Auckland Hamilton Christchurch and Counties-Manukau regions. Those teams will ensure a coordinated and comprehensive approach to family violence and its prevention in particular between the police the Department of Child Youth and Family Services and victim advocates. The first two of the pilots—in Auckland and Hamilton and in the Wairarapa and Hutt Valley areas—will commence in February next year. 
Tim Barnett 
: What results does he expect from the establishment of the family safety teams? 
Hon PHIL GOFF 
: By focusing on high-risk situations and putting in place preventive measures the initiative is expected to reduce family violence though with greater awareness of the effective services that will be available family violence reports are expected initially to increase. The overall result will be a system where agencies coordinate communicate and collaborate more effectively provide more comprehensive and integrated interventions and establish best practice nationally. 
Dail Jones 
: Why is the Minister not ashamed at this Government’s failure in the sphere of family violence—for example its failure to face up to those issues in the Care of Children Bill which neglects the very serious issues of child and family violence when those issues could be resolved by bringing the domestic violence legislation into the Care of Children Bill and having one compact “Care of Child and Family Bill”? 
Hon PHIL GOFF 
: I am not at all ashamed about the Government’s track record in that area. In fact if the member looks at family violence in terms of indicators such as assault by a male on a female which peaked around the mid-1990s when the party that member belongs to was in Government he will see we are now at less than two-thirds of that level of family violence. What is more my colleague the Minister for Social Development and Employment has introduced incredibly effective programmes like Te Rito to address that problem in a broad way. My announcement today will help to achieve the lowering of family violence by providing prevention and effective services. 
Judy Turner 
: Can the Minister specify the funding commitment he will make to the Hamilton interagency violence intervention project which has already successfully piloted that collaborative model for several years and can he provide an assurance that the funding allocated in the Auckland-Hamilton area will be adequate to properly resource the providers of family violence intervention services in that work? 
Hon PHIL GOFF 
: I am aware of the work done by the violence intervention project in Hamilton and I applaud that work. I am sure it will be very pleased that one of the pilot regions will be in the region where it has operated. In terms of funding the funding processes need to be followed through the family violence funding circuit-breaker project and another stream of funding will come on next year. In terms of the pilot project there will be funding for advocacy services. I imagine that the violence intervention project in Hamilton will apply for some of that funding. 
Peter Brown 
: I seek leave to table a list of the Governments in this country which will show that the Minister is somewhat confused and that New Zealand First was not in Government in the mid-1990s. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? There appears to be none. 
Document not tabled. 
Hon Phil Goff 
: I seek leave to table statistics that show that the figures on family violence around 1997-98 were much much higher than they are today. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table that. Is there any objection? There is objection.