1. The NSW Government is pushing ahead with a new scheme revealing offenders with a violent history on a public database.
The Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme will be the first in Australia and is modelled off a similar scheme in the UK.
A discussion paper on the scheme was released yesterday and Pru Goward, NSW Minister for the Prevention of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assualt said she’d like to see the program piloted in the next six to 12 months, announcing a roundtable discussion will be held next week.
“Domestic violence is rarely a one-off incident and if an offender has subjected a former partner to abuse, there’s a genuine risk the behaviour will continue with their current partner,” Ms Goward said.
“The roundtables are meant to tease out potential problems and ensure that our disclosure scheme properly protects people’s privacy while empowering women to know the violent history of a new partner so they make the informed decision about whether they stay or go.”
NSW Premier Mike Baird announced the scheme earlier this year at an International Women’s Day breakfast but the NSW Government has moved quickly on implementing the new scheme.
Addressing the domestic violence epidemic is clearly a priority for the NSW Premier.
After winning the election earlier in 2015, Mr Baird created the Prevention of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assualt portfolio and appointed Pru Goward as Minister.
Bruce Morcombe at Brisbane’s Supreme Court on Thursday.
2. Daniel Morcombe’s father speaks out after Brett Peter Cowan loses appeal.
As Brett Peter Cowan lost the appeal against his conviction on Thursday, Bruce Morcombe said he hopes his son’s killer stayed locked up for “the entirety of his life.”
“Eleven and a half years ago was the last time Denise and I, and the family, saw Daniel,” Bruce told reporters outside Brisbane’s Supreme Court.
“Today we hope Mr Cowan doesn’t forget his actions.
“It resulted in him spending a minimum 20 years in jail and we hope they’re tough.”
“We don’t have to worry about Mr Cowan, he’s locked up, probably for the rest of his life, and truly we hope it is the entirety of his life,” he said.
In one last attempt, Cowan can take his appeal conviction to the High Court and his lawyer, Tim Meehan, said “that’s what we’ll be persuing.”
3. Government may introduce anti-terrorism measures to strip suspects of right to vote and welfare payments.
In a bid to continue cracking down on terrorists the Abbott Government are considering introducing laws to cut welfare payments and strip terrorism suspects of the right to vote, reveal The Herald Sun.
Dual nationals who are committing acts of terrorism overseas will also be stripped of their Australian Citizenship under the considered legislation.
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