Scourge of DV must end Slain mum’s parents call for action

THE parents of murdered Gold Coast mum Tara Brown, who was slain by her controlling bikie ex, have called for a royal commission into domestic violence after a Brisbane man killed his estranged wife and their three children

Natalie Hinton and Jonny Gardner say it should not take another “horrific, unthought of, monstrous act” to force politicians to fund support services for women and put more police on the ground to enforce DV orders.

Tara was killed by her Bandido bikie ex Lionel Patea in 2015 when he ran her off the road and beat her to death with a fire hydrant cover as she lay in the wreckage.

The 24-year-old was in hiding and had taken out a DV order against him.

Patea is serving two life sentences for Tara’s killing and for the murder of Gold Coast father Greg Dufty.

Tara’s murder bears similarities to Wednesday’s Camp Hill horror in which Hannah Clarke and children Aaliyah, 6, Laianah, 4, and Trey, 3, were burnt in a car fire lit by estranged husband Rowan

Baxter, who stabbed himself in the chest and also died.

“I wish that I thought at the time Tara was killed something like this would never happen again, but I knew it would,” Ms Hinton said. “I think the public outcry, once again, nearly five years after Tara’s death, is because it was such a public display like Tara’s murder. It was in a suburban street. It was a horrific, unthought of, monstrous act.

“But, is that what it takes? Does it take a murder in a suburban street to bring domestic violence to the forefront again, for us to all stop and throw our hands up in the air and go: ‘What the hell is happening’?”

Tara’s stepfather Mr Gardner said women died every day at the hands of their partners in tragedies that did not make headlines because they were “behind closed doors”.

The pair, who began The Tara Brown Foundation after Tara’s death, say more police are needed on the ground to enforce DV orders.

Tara’s parents say they feel let down by politicians, who pledged to do more.

“We don’t want to bash the police because they do a great job, but I want to bash the Premier and the State Government because they just don’t give the resources to police to be able to do it (respond to DV). They need more police on the ground,” Mr Gardner said, adding that women contacted the foundation saying police didn’t give pleas for help priority.

“We know there are not many police on the ground and they’re probably saying: ‘Look we’ve got bigger fish to fry.’ But this is big fish now. It has been for a very long time but it’s being ignored,” Ms Hinton said.

She called for a royal commission into domestic violence in Australia. “I can’t take any more. I don’t want to hear this week, after week,” she said. “And it is week after week after week. Numbers haven’t come down.”

DOES IT TAKE A MURDER IN A SUBURBAN STREET TO BRING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE TO THE FOREFRONT AGAIN? NATALIE HINTON