CRASH RIDER NOW STABLE

A MOTORCYCLIST critically injured in a horror crash in South Geelong remains in hospital.

The 45-year-old man sustained multiple critical injuries when he collided with a car while riding along Barwon Terrace around 6.20am on Tuesday.

The man’s condition was on Wednesday downgraded to stable.

Geelong Highway Patrol Senior Sergeant Craig Stevens said police were still trying to piece together the circumstances that led to the crash.

He said anyone who witnessed the incident or who had dashcam footage of the collision could hold vital clues needed by police.

Police said at the time the driver of the other vehicle was uninjured and remained at the scene.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

FAMILY violence services say housing recommendations from the royal commission must be rolled out urgently after local victims were recently referred to accommodation as far away as Ballarat.

Sixty recommendations of the Royal Commission into Family Violence, which released its recommendations in 2016, are yet to be implemented as of February.

Bernadette McCartney, executive manager access, support and family safety at Bethany Group, is a member of the Barwon Area Integrated Family Violence Committee — a collection of nongovernment organisations that work together to collectively implement initiatives across the G21 region. The committee maintains discussions around the ongoing rollout of the royal commission recommendations.

Ms McCartney said there was still a handful of recommendations yet to be fully implemented relating to housing.

“This is an area collectively we are really concerned about,” Ms McCartney said.

She said that over the Christmas-New Year period and January people presenting to Geelong services as a result of family violence were forced to go as far as Ballarat or Melbourne for emergency accommodation, which can comprise options like motels.

“We couldn’t get them in Geelong. There’s just no vacancies,” Ms McCartney said.

“It was very dire there for a few weeks. Part of that is people come to this area to go to the beach, clogging up accommodation used as emergency accommodation.”

And getting survivors into crisis accommodation was made particularly difficult due to low turnover during the pandemic.

Ms McCartney said this meant victims were forced to stay in motels for up to six weeks with small children.

“It’s just terrible,” she said. “And then to get them into those longer term options, there’s just a scarcity.”

Ms McCartney said housing had been a “big ticket” item of the royal commission.

“As a collection of agencies, we’re asking where’s that investment because in the last five years we’ve seen no revolution of this issue,” she said.

She also said areas with need, and recommendations yet to be fully implemented, included courts, and communities where there was under-reporting of family violence, including culturally and linguistically diverse, LGBTQI, Aboriginal and disability communities.

A state government spokeswoman said the government was pressing ahead with its unprecedented reform of family violence support and services, and was now more than two-thirds of the way through completing all 227 recommendations of the royal commission.

“These reforms are building a new system that is more integrated, inclusive and effective in supporting those affected by family violence but also changing behaviour so that we can stop violence before it happens,” the spokeswoman said.

Ms McCartney acknowledged that a number of recommendations had been rolled out which had upskilled local workforces, and highlighted The Orange Door as a central intake point from the royal commission.

Work is under way to design a service model for an Aboriginal Access Point to be established in Barwon this year, to enhance The Orange Door service and enable choice for Aboriginal people to access services and support in culturally safe and culturally responsive ways.

By early 2022, a new family violence “core and cluster” refuge will be available in Barwon, providing onsite support services (core) in a central facility, as well as independent living units (cluster).

Work is currently under way to design this refuge and, once completed, it will be managed by an expert local service provider.