By ANEEKA SIMONIS
INCOMING rate capping measures may have dire impacts on south eastern domestic violence prevention projects, according to State Opposition Leader Matthew Guy.
Currently, the funding for Challenge Family Violence, an initiative helping to change men’s attitudes towards women in the south east, is hanging in the balance as it heads into its last few months of secured State Government funding.
In November this year it will no longer have State Government support as funding initiatives are halted until recommendations are handed down from the Royal Commission into Family Violence in February next year.
Mr Guy, together with Bass MP Brian Paynter, visited the Gazette on Thursday afternoon.
He said funding insecurity for the male-led family violence prevention campaign could result in more serious consequences in Cardinia Shire, the City of Casey and Greater Dandenong area.
“If it isn’t sustained, there will be an impact on the community,” said Mr Paynter, who indicated local police are already inundated with domestic violence call-outs.
Both Liberal MPs expressed fears about the fate of the program, indicating that incoming rate-capping measures may not be able to pay for the initiative if it does not get funding following the Royal Commission.
“It’s a nice election sweetener to talk about rate capping but these are the unforseen circumstance if we start throwing state funded programs back onto local government and don’t give them mechanism to pay for it.
“Those programs either die or other programs die because of pulled funding,” Mr Guy said.
All councils will be required to cap rates at the cost of inflation by mid-2016.
Mr Guy did not commit to scrapping rate-capping if he was elected to office in 2018.
He also raised concerns about rising family violence in the area.
Reports in Cardinia Shire have more than doubled in the past five years and are now made every 75 minutes across the shire, with children being witness to 41 per cent of the family violence incidents.
The need for domestic violence support in the City of Casey is a top priority, with the area recording the highest number of family violence reports across the state.
In 2014, police received 3840 reports of family violence, which is up by 287 reports from the previous year.
“(Funding insecurity) is a major concern. We are in an area with the highest incidence of family violence,” said Mr Paynter.
A State Government spokesman said funding commitments for preventative programs such as the Challenge Family Violence initiative will be assessed based on their merits.
“The Royal Commission into Family Violence will consider the importance of preventive responses in its recommendations that are to be delivered in February 2016.”
