Queensland minister blames opposition 'scare campaign' for victims avoiding support services

Queensland’s Domestic and Family Violence Minister Amanda Camm used a budget estimates hearing to allege that Labor has run a “shameful” scare campaign about cuts to frontline domestic-violence services, causing some survivors to feel unsafe seeking assistance. She cited recent calls from women who said they were now arranging their own funerals and taking out life insurance in case of murder by an abuser. Director-General Belinda Drew confirmed that $10.569 million had been shifted from domestic-violence programs to other family-initiative services such as financial counselling.

Camm also refused to table the update on the 277 recommendations from the women’s safety and justice taskforce that Premier David Crisafulli had pledged to release. Shadow Treasurer Shannon Fentiman accused the minister of repeatedly defying the premier and called for her removal. The hearing also highlighted a separate child-safety backlog linked to the troubled $183 million Unify system.