The Gold Coast Bulletin

Coast refuge claims State Government ‘hell-bent’ on shutting it down

- GREG STOLZ

THE operator of a Gold Coast refuge for domestic violence victims, their children and pets fears she will be forced to close down because of alleged State Government “harassment”.

Simone Patterson alleges Department of Housing and Public Works investigat­ors have jumped the fence of The Sanctuary Women, Children and Pets Refuge, “impersonat­ed” police officers and “intimidate­d” residents.

Ms Patterson – who claims to have rescued 165 women and countless children and pets since opening the refuge three years ago – says the department has been trying to force her to register as budget accommodat­ion despite refuges being exempt from the requiremen­t under the Building Act.

“They tried to close us down and have even taken us to court,” said Ms Patterson, a former victim of brutal domestic violence and a finalist in the recent Gold Coast Woman of the Year Awards.

“We’re the only women’s refuge that allows pets and boys over 12, but Housing Queensland seems hell-bent on forcing us to shut our doors.”

A department spokeswoma­n said non-government-funded domestic violence shelters needed to register as a residentia­l service.

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