NEWS DESK
Fears of violence increase
Just leave: Geraldine Bilston has a simple message for anyone undergoing family violence. She urges our community to better support victims. Pictures: Supplied
Continued from Page 1 Other articles, from overseas, highlight alarming increases in domestic violence, especially in countries where much harsher isolation rules are being enforced: Intolerable living conditions are resulting in unprecedented abuse. Victims are neither being seen nor heard. “I have been advocating for change for three years and, at the start of this year, joined the Victim Survivor Advisory Council which gives people with a lived experience a voice in family violence reform, improvements to services and support initiatives,” Ms Bilston said. She has “never felt more grateful for the safe and happy home” she and her daughter are isolating in. “But I am
also absolutely heartbroken and sick with worry for those who do not have the same,” she said. “I would like to encourage anyone who may be experiencing family violence to stay connected to other people outside of home. Try to create a safe world with someone close to you to go to if you need to escape in a hurry. Also, reach out to support agencies, however, you are able, whether that be by phone or online,” she said. Ms Bilston recommended Orange Door at Frankston and Safe Steps as places of refuge, comfort and advice. “By all accounts these services are brilliant,” she said. If you or someone you know is experiencing family violence and/or sexual abuse call 1800 737 732.
Picture: Gary Sissons
Three-year financing for biosphere THE federal government is giving the Western Port Biosphere $300,000 over the next three years, matching the money provided by the organisation’s five member municipalities: Mornington Peninsula, Frankston, Casey, Bass and Cardinia. The Western Port Biosphere Reserve is recognised by UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere Program and the money will support the its aim of “balancing conservation and sustainable development within the region”. The biosphere’s new chair, Jo McCoy, said the federal government money “shows a real partnership between these levels of government”. “Few Australians can say that they live in a UNESCO biosphere reserve, but we can. The peninsula and the wonderful Western Port environment, including the Ramsar wetlands and the endangered international migratory bird species that live here, should be a continuing source of pride for us all,” she said.
The money would help the biosphere “work even more closely with our community to educate people about the biosphere and bring many more people into caring for it”. Flinders MP Greg Hunt said the biosphere would adopt a “multidisciplinary approach” towards communicating with groups and communities “on the need to protect the region”. “This will include forums and seminars to help increase community understanding of the development pressures on mammals, waterbirds and marine species,” he said. The biosphere’s executive officer, who is also named Greg Hunt, said the money would help the biosphere develop projects “to explore how we might answer the fundamental question of how we meet human needs without damaging the environment on which we and all other species depend”. Wetlands within the biosphere are covered under the Ramsar Convention which is subject to Australian migratory bird agreements with China, Japan and Korea.
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Southern Peninsula News 15 April 2020