Dowie SarahJustice SectorSARAH DOWIE (Chairperson of the Justice and Electoral Committee): It is an absolute pleasure to lead off the debate in respect of appropriations for the 2015-16 year in the justice space. I am exceptionally proud because of course we are known as the law and order party. We have a record that is exceptional in the law and order and justice space. We are visionary in respect of breaking down the silos of government to look at justice across all Government departments to make sure we are focused on holding offenders to account to make sure that we understand and invest in people to eliminate the drivers of crime in a social investment space and of course to focus on rehabilitation.Most importantly we are a party that is focused on putting the victim at the centre of offending—at the heart of that offending—and making sure that victims are supported and that they feel that justice has been done in that space.We can celebrate the fact that we are the fourth-safest country in the OECD. We do want to be No.1 and to be No.1 we need to now start really tackling the sharp end of the wedge" crimes such as family violence. That is where I have to acknowledge our fantastic Minister the Minister of Justice the Hon Amy Adams for spearheading a portfolio of work that is quite revolutionary in this space. We acknowledge that changing the laws is not going to in itself get on top of the 110000 call-outs that occurred last year in the family violence space but we acknowledge that law change will be a platform that we can springboard off again to hold perpetrators to account and to put victims at the centre of that offending to support them and their families to make them feel safe to help them feel safe and to make sure that behaviours are changed so that these families can lead more productive and healthy lifestyles moving forward.I know that the Minister will talk more about family violence in the legal overhaul that she will spearhead but some of those reforms generally speaking will be in respect of making protection orders more accessible and more tailored to families for their specific circumstances and also to look at further developing property orders to make sure that victims and survivors of domestic abuse are able to stay in the family home so that they feel safe in their environment and they are not the ones who are punished from being victimised and also though to connect those perpetrators and offenders with the right supports that they need in the community to make sure that they start to develop healthy behaviours moving forward. So I think that these are fantastic reforms that the Hon Amy Adams is spearheading and like I say she will touch on them further.But it is not only about legal reform; it is also about integrating other Government departments including the Police. The police are often the first people who are on the scene when these horrific incidents occur. We are giving them the tools to help them better respond but also one of my favourites in the prevention space is of course the police disclosure scheme. The police disclosure scheme is a new scheme that allows the police to disclose to a partner the potential danger of their existing partner if they have a criminal history.This scheme has now been used 158 times since it was launched in December 2015 and the police have approved 117 disclosure requests. That empowers people who are in a relationship with somebody who has a past history to make decisions that are best for them as to whether to move out of the family home or to stop seeing their partner or whatever it is to seek the help that they need and again put in place some measures to make sure that they are safe. So this is a Government that is breaking down silos and making a difference."