NEWS DESK
Plans for violence survivors to access super slammed THE re-emergence of a proposal to allow women to access their superannuation to escape domestic violence has been slammed by Dunkley MP Peta Murphy. The federal government’s plan would have allowed women to access $10,000 from their own superannuation. Ms Murphy said the proposal was “not okay”. “Women fleeing domestic violence should not be forced to choose between their and their children’s safety and their financial futures,” she said. “This government continues to fail to listen to the concerns of women across the country and repeatedly presents wholly inadequate, and in this case, counterproductive, responses. “The response of the Morrison government to women needing to flee violent relationships is to say, ‘We know you earn 42 per cent less than men in superannuation, we know that the fastest-growing cohort of homeless people is women over the age of 55, and we know that single women in retirement are more likely to live in poverty than men, but don’t worry—if you need to escape a domestic violent relationship, you can draw down on your retirement savings in order to do so.’ It defies belief that women who are protesting should not only be glad they’re not getting shot but should also have to go into poverty to escape violence.” Nine newspapers reported earlier this month that the federal government would be moving forward with the plan, which was first floated in 2018. The following week Senator Marise Payne told senate estimates that the government would not be pursuing the policy. Brodie Cowburn
Family violence cases rising Brodie Cowburn brodie@baysidenews.com.au THE number of reported family violence incidents in Kingston increased by nearly 10 per cent last year. In the neighbouring Frankston municipality, there was also a 10 per cent increase in reported family incidents. There were 2724 reported occurrences of family violence in the Frankston municipality last year, according to the latest figures released by the Crime Statistics Agency. In 2019 there were 2477. Last year was the third consecutive year in which there had been a rise in local family violence incidents. The number of reported family violence incidents in Frankston remains well above the statewide average. In 2020, the family incident rate per 100,000 people in the Frankston local government area was 1895. The statewide average rate of reported cases was 1380. The rates of family violence in the Frankston LGA are higher than those in the neighbouring Casey, Kingston, Greater Dandenong, and Mornington Peninsula areas. Women are the reported victims of family violence around three times more than men are. Women were listed as the affected people in Frankston family violence incidents a little more than 2000 times last year. Men were the reported victims on just under 700 occasions. Frankston residents aged 35-44 were the worst affected by family violence. 194 children were reported as victims. Statewide family violence incidents increased 9.4 per cent from 2019 to 2020. There were 92,521 family violence incidents recorded in Victoria last year. The number of total offences recorded statewide by Victoria Police in 2020 rose 2.3 per cent from 2019, to a total of 548,354. The criminal offence rate in Kingston and Frankston dropped from 2019 to 2020.
Picture: Yanni
Spark dances with art SPARK Youth Dance Company will perform its eight-dance Circuit Breaker in the grounds of McClelland Sculpture Park+Gallery, Langwarrin on Friday 9 April and Saturday 10 April. Members of the audience will be able experience McClelland’s artworks in a new light as they move through the park to find and watch the dancers “explore themes of and beyond their years”, director Alex Dellaportas said. The company’s dancers, aged 14 to 23, have been working together since February. Spark started in 2016, and its works have surprised and moved audiences with topical and emotive themes. Circuit Breaker tickets available at: www. sparkproductions.org.au/circuitbreaker
Solo art A SOLO exhibition by artist Philip Honeyman will be held over Easter at 1a Jetty Road,
Rosebud. The exhibition of 30 oil paintings opens 7.30pm Thursday 1 April, 2pm-4.30pm 3 April and then 10am-4.30pm for the rest of the Easter break. Call the artist on 0423 323 245.
Survivor speaks TIFFANY Johnson will be the guest speaker at the next monthly meeting of Mount Eliza Probus Club in the Uniting Church, Mount Eliza, Monday 10 May. In 1999 Ms Johnson suffered horrific injuries in a canyoning disaster in Switzerland that claimed the lives of 21 young people. Her book Brave Enough Now charts her road to recovery. The free meeting starts at 9.45am and visitors are welcome. Details: Tim Acton 0418 310 727.
WHAT’S NEW...
Secret stories of health professionals AS patients, we want our doctors and nurses to be perfect. We want them to be invincible; to manage all of our anxieties and fears in the face of illness. Health professionals are with us when we’re born, and they’re with us when we die. They devote their lives to caring for us, but how do we care for them? How do they cope with the pressure? And when and how is there grace and compassion in the enacting of care? Based on hours of in-depth interviews with health professionals about their experiences of working in hospitals, Grace Under Pressure is a deeply moving theatre experience revealing the hidden stories of doctors and nurses in their own words. Originally programmed in the Frankston Arts Centre’s 2020 theatre season, it is even timelier to ask who cares for our carers in the
PAGE 8
Chelsea Mordialloc Mentone News
31 March 2021
face of a global pandemic. This play was inspired by tragedy. In early 2015 there were a spate of suicides by junior doctors – four within a month. Whilst such events are distressingly common within the profession, four deaths in such quick succession rocked the health sector. Something was clearly wrong with the workplace culture of hospitals, and something had to change. Vividly brought to life by a cast of four extraordinary actors, the play takes the audience on an unforgettable journey. There will be laughter, there will be shock, and there will be tears. Alternative Facts presents Grace Under Pressure at Frankston Arts Centre on Thursday 6 May, 7.30pm. Tickets: $27-$60 Bookings: 03 9784 1060 or thefac.com.au.