{"id":26922,"date":"2015-03-05T20:22:54","date_gmt":"2015-03-05T09:22:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nofibs.com.au\/?p=26922"},"modified":"2019-04-13T23:56:15","modified_gmt":"2019-04-13T13:56:15","slug":"not-now-not-ever-the-qld-weekly-blogazine-qldpol-qldaah","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/not-now-not-ever-the-qld-weekly-blogazine-qldpol-qldaah\/","title":{"rendered":"Not now, not ever \u2013 The Qld Weekly blogazine #qldpol: @Qldaah"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Can<\/a><\/p>\n

Blog the week.<\/a><\/h6>\n
Not now, not ever.<\/a><\/h6>\n
(March 7, 2015) – Get out of jail free.<\/a><\/h6>\n
(March 6, 2015) – International Women’s Day .<\/a><\/h6>\n
(March 5, 2015) –\u00a0Selling non strategic assets.<\/a><\/h6>\n
(March 4, 2015) – March 4 march.<\/a><\/h6>\n
(March 3, 2015) – Hear and say.<\/a><\/h6>\n
(March 2, 2015) – Terror guards.<\/a><\/h6>\n
(March 1, 2015) – Scorched earth.<\/a><\/h6>\n

Highlights<\/h2>\n

.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Blog the week<\/h3>\n

Check back with us\u00a0as we blog the week in Queensland politics. Former Queensland Governor Quentin Bryce’s report into domestic violence in Queensland<\/a>, the Queensland LNP hosts International Women’s Day at male only members club and Premier Annastcia Palaszczuk<\/a>\u00a0takes up\u00a0the charge against Prime Minister Tony Abbott<\/a> ahead of the 2016 federal election campaign.<\/p>\n

.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Not now, Not ever<\/h3>\n

“Let us together send a message to Queenslanders. Not now, not ever.\u00a0We must eliminate domestic and family violence,” wrote former Australian Governor-General and former Queensland Governor Quentin Bryce in her report into domestic violence in Queensland. The report was handed by her to Premier Annastcia Palaszczuk<\/a>\u00a0on Saturday,\u00a0February\u00a028, 2015.<\/p>\n

\"9<\/a>

9 News Brisbane: Inquiry into domestic violence by Quentin Bryce handed to Premier Palaszczuk.<\/p><\/div>\n

On the following Monday night<\/a>, another suspected murder-suicide was reported at Biddeston, 25 kilometres west of Toowoomba, taking the lives of a 7-year old boy and his pregnant Mum. His Grandfather was also found deceased in their home of suspected self-inflicted gunshot wounds.<\/p>\n

Governments don’t seem as effective in responding to the problem as they do to an act of terrorism. Even though domestic violence is happening all around Australia, perhaps it’s because the community can’t see a domestic violence incident happening in the same way\u00a0they witness\u00a0a terrorist siege being played out on live television or on the front pages of newspapers.<\/p>\n

From the report, “in 2013-2014 there were 66,016 occurrences, a 2.7% increase on the previous year. This means, on average, 181 incidents of domestic and family violence were reported to police\u00a0every day in Queensland in 2013-2014.\u00a0Tragically, 17 domestic and family violence related homicides occurred in Queensland in 2012\u20132013, a significant proportion of the total 49 homicides in the state in the same period.”<\/p>\n

Bryce’s task\u00a0group made 140 recommendations, ranging from a community prevention strategy, modifications to the court system, establishing more crisis shelters and greater training for police officers. All recommendations should culminate in amendments to the “Queensland Domestic and Family Violence Protection Act”<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Queensland Government will now take time to research the report and respond. The trick for Palaszczuk will be to get all parties of the 55th Queensland Government to put politics aside and work together in consultation with the community to implement the recommendations. If not, it will be just another document on top of the growing pile of reports.<\/p>\n

The full document is available for public comment here, “Not now, not ever – Putting an end to domestic and family violence in Queensland”.<\/a><\/p>\n

.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

(March 7, 2015) – Get out of jail free<\/h2>\n
    \n
  • Jason Tin<\/a> reports, “Jo-Ann Miller, the new Police and Corrective Services Minister, said she was worried about the conditions prisoners were in, doubling up in cells, and facing a construction bill of more than $1 billion for new jails if radical action wasn\u2019t taken.\u00a0She said serious offenders would be kept behind bars but lesser risk criminals could be better off monitored in society.”:\u00a0Police and Corrective Services Minister Jo-Ann Miller denies increasing community corrections orders a case of \u2018going soft\u2019 on criminals.\u00a0<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
    \"07\/03\/15<\/a>

    07\/03\/15 The Courier Mail – Get Out Of Jail Free.<\/p><\/div>\n

    The Courier Mail<\/em><\/a> has sensationalised the piece\u00a0by its own reporter\u00a0Jason Tin<\/a>\u00a0resulting in a misleading front page, “Get out of jail free”. The “revelation”suggests Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk <\/a>will let criminals out of jail, a far fetched claim. This misinformation provides no intelligent debate on the issue of overcrowding in Queensland jails. As indicated by ABC’s Matt Wordsworth<\/a> this week, the number of indigenous prisoners since Campbell Newman<\/a> came to power in 2012 has surged. Early in his administration, the decision was taken by former Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie<\/a> to close the indigenous Murri Court system which allowed offenders to be sentenced but serve time in the community under indigenous\u00a0elder supervision.<\/p>\n

    With funding cut to Murri, founding member Uncle Albert Holt warned the Newman Government in 2012 that it would need to build more jails<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    “It is absolutely disgraceful for the elders who participated in the Murri Court,” he told The Satellite<\/a><\/em>. “It’s unacceptable the over representation of Aboriginal people in the criminal justice system. We’ve got a lost generation just in our jails. The government didn’t even have the decency to address the issue with the elders and I think that’s abysmal.”<\/p>\n

    However, Bleijie dismissed the 11 year old system saying, “The Murri Court was not delivering consistent results and did not justify the amount being spent to keep it operating. The program was not reducing imprisonment rates for indigenous offenders and has not stopped recidivism in the short term.”<\/p>\n

    As Tin pointed out in his article, with there currently being 7192 prisoners in custody, the options for the government are to continue to double up prisoners in cells, have some serve community service for misdemeanors or spend the $1 billion necessary to build new prisons. The latter would take a considerable amount of time to implement.<\/p>\n

    \"Eammon<\/a>

    Eammon Atkinson reports: Police minister Jo-Ann Miller’s concern for prison overcrowding.<\/p><\/div>\n

    \n

    The graph that should keep new Police\/Prisons Minister @JoAnnMillerMP<\/a> awake at night #qldpol<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/qX9pmsBhYY<\/a><\/p>\n

    — Matt Wordsworth (@MattWordsworth) March 5, 2015<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n