Delay on frontline workers for DV

The Albanese government has been slammed over its efforts to bolster the number of frontline domestic violence workers, with a Nationals senator saying its plan to tackle the issue of gender-based violence is “not working”.

Governments are facing renewed pressure to take further action to end domestic violence after 26 women were allegedly killed by men in the first 115 days of the year.

The Albanese government and all state and territory governments in October 2022 unveiled a national $2.3bn 10-point action plan to combat domestic violence. That included more frontline workers to support victims of domestic violence.

Speaking on Sky News Sunday Agenda program, Senator Bridget McKenzie (pictured) said the federal government had failed to deliver a promised increase in frontline services.

“They are not on the ground, particularly in the regions where these violent acts are being perpetrated,” she said.

Last month, the Opposition revealed that not one of 200 new frontline community domestic violence workers announced in the October 2022 budget had been delivered before Labor’s self-imposed deadline of mid-2023.

A further 200 workers are expected to be rolled out by the end of June, with an additional 100 in 2024-25, bringing the total to 500.

“I think we’re all we’ve all had enough … we’ve had enough of the big money announcements,” Senator McKenzie added.

However, the Nationals Senate leader would not be drawn on whether the Coalition would throw its support behind a federal royal commission into domestic violence.

Earlier, Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth would not comment on whether the government would support a royal commission, instead pointing to existing efforts in train, including the 10year national plan.