Crisis Accommodation

Frank Wilkie116:42

Put the motion those in favour? Councillor Lorentson? Yes. Finzel, Wilkie and Phillips against. Councillor Stockwell, Councillor Wegener. The motion is carried. Now on to item 5.5. Another notified motion. Crisis accommodation. Councillor Finzel would you like to read out your motion please. 5.5. We'll just get that up on the screen for you. Has been for us some time. Jen? Not her, it's--- Yeah, Councillor Finzel would you like to read out your motion please. Of course, thank you Mr Chair.

Karen Finzel117:38

The recommendation 5.5, crisis accommodation. That Council commit to ongoing advocacy to the State government to increase funding for A, crisis accommodation facilities, B, the delivery of structured programs that support learning and understanding around domestic violence behaviours and C, a referral process to onsite supported transition accommodation, specific-- specifically designed to address family domestic violence and abuse.

Karen Finzel118:16

Thank you. A we've had of conversation around the table today. I don't think we have to go too far into this. I think given the significance of social issues that we've brought to the table today and also the importance of strategies and advocacy as the role of local Council to-- continue this advocacy, this really important conversation around keeping our community safe. Again, I'd just like to draw back again to the importance of strategy. So the Noosa social strategy and the social justice charter and the new community strategy will help inform our direction on this. So back when the Prime Minister of Australia Anthony Albanese in May 2024 announced a national cabinet meeting due to urgency to discuss the national crisis of gender-based violence given the number of women murdered. In support of our rights to live free of violence, at that time I tried to engage the process afforded to me as a Councillor through the correct process to bring this to a CDF which is a meeting that we have opportunity to bring to the table important issues that we feel need urgent and immediate action unfortunately give the social charter policy was 2017 it was indicated that an overall overarching strategic strategy of the social I'm just going to get the wording right so that I'm getting that right so that the new community strategy needs to inform the social charter that has needs a review because it's been since 2017 so at the core of where I stand today and my focus on this is because when we look at future visioning and the importance of strategies and looking after our community and keeping them safe this is a global matter it's also been raised by the Prime Minister at a national level as a crisis in this nation my personal belief is that the lowest people on the ground as a local government Council we've heard all the social issues around the table today and we place our value of people's safety working in alignment with all agencies our first responders our frontline workers that have people you know coming to their organisations for support they're struggling we know what is happening in our communities all I'm seeking is support all levels of government to advocate in support of access to services accommodation programs that will help and hopefully moving forward minimise the scourge of violence and the crisis in this nation given the conversations around economic impacts I have tried to keep this notice of motion to the point where it's not an impost economically and financially to the Council all I've asked and seeking is that we continue to advocate that we represent our people closest to the ground and use our voices which really matter to advocate to the State government that so we that we all align together in support of united nations and our human rights to live free from violence.

Brian Stockwell122:19

I will briefly because as Councillor Finzel suggested. This is the biggest social issue for the country. The last we heard statistics about police on the Sunshine Coast. It is by far the most time consuming aspect of policing. Something it that is very gender based and is the gender and the majority of the perpetrators are male. And yet when we look at crisis accommodation it generally requires the mum and the children to be moved out of the family home and the perpetrator stay there. So one of the aspects I'd like to see advocacy on is to look at the perpetrator crisis accommodation because it's one of the things we don't have in our Shire or I believe on the Sunshine Coast. It's about actually addressing the problem at core in terms its of providing a Shire that is safe for everyone and I therefore support the point and I understand that underlying Councillor Finzel's motion is that desire that we our focus to the well overdue community plan review of the social charter to really refocus this council's efforts on the range of social issues, both positive and negative, that we need to address.

Frank Wilkie123:44

Come out, come Director Rawlings. Would you be able to give us an update on council's work in this space? In terms of crisis accommodation?

We are doing a lot of we work in the housing space, including advocacy around crisis accommodation. There is actually a new funding program, a $100 million funding program that's been announced for crisis accommodation. Councillors will recall this is one of our key advocacy pieces in the recent state advocacy document that we put forward. So we have reached out to partners and stakeholders in this space to advise them of the funding and we'll be following up, I was just this morning, following up about whether there are opportunities in our Shire to seek further funding and grant funding to either support agencies to provide crisis accommodation facilities, for instance, as it's a capital funding program, and what role Council can play in terms of partnering, letters of support, assisting with grant applications, all those sorts of things. So we're doing as much as what we can in terms of advocating in this space.

Jessica Phillips125:13

Yes, Jess. On a topic, thank you, that I'm very familiar with and probably just on the back of Councillor stockwell's suggestion and I just want to give some real grassroots information about how that looks on the ground. Police and our community, if police respond to a domestic violence incident, which the last time I checked the stats is approximately 70% of calls for service is DV related incidents, when they take action and the perpetrator is required to leave the house, there is actually no crisis accommodation for the perpetrator. When you're looking at that and there's probably different opinions around the fact that they're the perpetrator. You know, what we should be doing for them, but there's so much evidence that supports providing them extra. Providing them the same amount of support when it comes to housing. Otherwise, the closest accommodation for. Crisis accommodation for the perpetrator is Maryborough. And what we find is they are more likely to breach their temporary or domestic. Violence order because there is nowhere for them to be. And it goes back to a human element. That I want to speak on. Everyone has the right, in my opinion, to have a roof over their head, regardless of what they've done in their life. This is a national issue and something that I'm really glad Councillor Finzel has brought to the table today.