Latest news with #Stojkovski
West Australian
4 days ago
- Politics
- West Australian
Free Perth zoo and museum passes: WA foster families given free tickets during Foster and Family Carers Week
Free family tickets to Perth's zoo and museums are on offer again, but only for a few and only for a limited time. Passes are being offered to the State's 3,300 foster carer households as a show of appreciation, during Foster and Family Carers Week that starts on July 28. Minister for Child Protection Jessica Stojkovski said eligible families will save more than $300, while enjoying a day out. 'Families can apply for vouchers for either of the two museums and for the zoo, so, potentially, they could have three days out,' she said at the Boola Bardip museum on Thursday. 'These free passes are just one way that the Cook Labor Government is helping to support these families and giving them a little bit of joy.' The Minister said a permanent increase to the foster carer subsidy, that is currently up to $607.33 per fortnight for teenagers, is also being considered, as the Government launches a campaign to boost recruitment. 'It is certainly something that we're open to looking at,' she said. 'It's not designed, obviously to cover everything and as a foster family you do it for the passion and for the love of opening your home to somebody who really, really needs a safe place.' Every West Australian was eligible for up to four free tickets to Perth Zoo last year, as part of a major cost-of-living package, that was taken up by more than 215,000 people. Ms Stojkovski rejected the description of free zoo and museum tickets as 'bread and circuses' to distract voters from the long-term impact of cost of living issues on families and children. 'I don't think that's the right kind of characterisation of what this is,' she said. 'This is actually acknowledging that foster cares and families do a lot of great work for the most vulnerable people in our State, and this is just a way that we're celebrating them.' Louise and Rick Pekan currently have nine children in their home and wouldn't have it any other way, but admitted the helping hand does require a financial sacrifice. 'You're not in it for a profit at all, you're generally in it for a loss,' Ms Pekan said. 'We have extended a house, put on a $200,000 extension to be able to care for the children in our home. It's larger cars, its birthday parties and presents and things like that. 'So to be able to go to the museum, to the zoo, to take those family outings, particularly as a large family . . . it's really important to have these little opportunities for connection.' 16-year-old Nevaeh has grown up as a foster sibling, and described helping new members of the family as a rewarding experience. 'For me, it's normal. It's being able to be that sense of support and to support kids that are going through tough times. Our family really just strives to be that safe family for them in that time,' she said.
Perth Now
24-06-2025
- Business
- Perth Now
Budget full of ‘recycled promises' for Peel Health Campus
Peel Health Campus was top of mind at a Peel Region Budget Breakfast last week and not everyone was happy about the State Government's funding commitments. Minister for Peel Jessica Stojkovski was in town to present post-budget highlights for the region and answer questions. The minister drew some looks when she struggled to pronounce the names of suburbs in the region she represents, with Coodanup became Coondanup and Edenvale pronounced Evandale. Most of the funding announced for the region had been earmarked in previous budgets but highlights included $9.7 million for infill sewerage services to about 150 properties in Falcon, $200,000 to begin planning for a high school in Dawesville, which has been promised for decades, and access to the Forrest Highway from South Yunderup. Attendees could submit questions to the minister and Q&A host, Mandurah MP Rhys Williams, acknowledged that a number of these questions related to Peel Health Campus. 'The $152 million that was committed to the budget for the redevelopment, everybody knows that that's not going to cover the cost of the redevelopment,' he added. 'That is for the forward works, that is to get the project started, get the power there, get the works done so that the project can get under way. 'What we are hoping to understand is what the status of that project is.' Mr Williams and Ms Stojkovski give an update on the Peel Health Campus development. Credit: Supplied The minister confirmed that detailed plans for Peel Health Campus were 'close to being finalised'. 'It's a hard thing to get people to understand you can't actually build buildings unless you have water and power that those buildings can access,' Ms Stojkovski added. 'My husband's a builder, so he always talks about forward works, and the forward works always taking too long, but it's a really important part of the project, isn't it?' The $152m commitment was first announced by the State Government in 2020. This year's budget papers revealed an estimated expenditure of $2000 for the ED expansion in 2024-25 and $89,000 in 2025-26, out of a total estimated expenditure of $3,680,000. For the hospital redevelopment, the estimated expenditure in 2024-25 was $15,212,000 with $23,596,000 committed for 2025-26, and an expected total cost of $142,948,000. Earlier that morning, Canning MP Andrew Hastie criticised the government's funding commitment, saying, 'It's just more recycled promises with no real progress'. 'The people of Mandurah and the Peel Region were promised a $152 million redevelopment back in 2020 and five years later, we have absolutely nothing to show for it,' Mr Hastie said. 'The WA Government is still pointing to the same line in the budget but there are no new wards, no new beds and no upgrade in sight. 'Money in the budget doesn't mean anything if it never leaves the spreadsheet.' Mr Hastie said the government needs millions more dollars to account for inflation. 'It's simple: you can't build today's hospital with yesterday's budget,' he said. 'The numbers don't add up. That money won't stretch anywhere near as far now, and they know it. This tells us they're not serious about getting this project done. 'While Labor is busy patting themselves on the back, patients are ramped outside waiting for care. 'Some are walking away from the emergency department altogether because they simply can't wait any longer. Our dedicated healthcare workers are stretched beyond their limits.' At the breakfast, Mr Williams added that the campus was the number one priority for himself and Dawesville MP Lisa Munday. 'There's nothing more important than delivering the full-scale transformation at Peel Health Campus, we are meeting fortnightly with stakeholders in agencies and ministerial offices to get this project to where it needs to be, and we will keep that pressure on,' he said. Mr Williams then revealed that the Peel region had the highest rates of family and domestic violence in the State and asked the minister to speak on local investments in the sector. 'I'm really proud that our government has invested over half a billion dollars in the prevention of family and domestic violence since 2017 and that has been across the spectrum of interventions,' Ms Stojkovski said. 'There are a number of different refuges that we are expanding and new refuges that we are looking to put new units into, so not beds, because we understand that while women, historically, have been identified as the victim survivors in family and domestic violence, actually children are also victim survivors. 'So we're looking at how many units we can provide in different places, rather than just beds.' Local commitments include: $20m for a new Peel Netball Centre, with the location to be developed in consultation with the community and Netball WA; $6m for additional multi-use indoor courts at Mandurah Aquatic Centre to cater for basketball, volleyball, badminton and netball; $200,000 towards storage at Peel Reserve Oval to cater to the Halls Head Cricket Club and Mandurah City Football Club; $1.45m towards a new pavilion at Dwellingup Oval, including women's changerooms; $800,000 towards new women's changerooms at Waroona Football Club; $800,000 towards upgrades at North Pinjarra Park including for the multi-use courts, play area and barbecues; $750,000 towards upgrades at Edenvale Heritage Precinct including lighting and toilets; $400,000 towards lighting and storage upgrades at Merlin Street Reserve, used by the Halls Head Football and Netball Club; $180,000 to improve women's facilities at Sir Ross McLarty Oval in Pinjarra; $7.5m for major facility upgrades at the Pinjarra Race Club; and $2.2m for upgrades to the Pinjarra Harness Racing Club.
West Australian
06-06-2025
- General
- West Australian
Long-promised Broome One Stop Domestic Violence Hub officially opens
The hub, named Bibimbiya Jan-ga Buru, meaning women and children's healing place in Yawuru language, is located at 19 Barker Street and provides a one stop entry point for a range of specialist supports for people experiencing family and domestic violence, including advocacy, counselling, legal assistance, and support for children. Service delivery is led by Men's Outreach Service Aboriginal Corporation, operating as Family Outreach Service, in partnership with Anglicare WA and service alliance members Nirrumbuk Aboriginal Corporation, Jalygurr Guwan Aboriginal Corporation, Broome CIRCLE and Legal Aid WA. The $23 million project also provides family and domestic violence outreach services to Derby and Bidyadanga. Ms Stojkovski said domestic violence has a devastating impact on families and breaking the cycle requires targeted services in primary prevention and early intervention like which is offered at the hub. 'The securing of a suitable property to house the Broome Family and Domestic Violence One Stop Hub is a significant milestone and will ensure victim-survivors can access a range of supports and get the assistance that's right for them, including cultural support and healing services, all from the single location,' she said. 'By co-locating key support with other community services, a 'soft' entry point is created, reducing stigma attached to seeking assistance.' It comes as the Kimberley continues to record the highest rates of domestic violence in the State, with 11,912 offences per 100,000 people in 2023-24, more than 15 times the Perth metropolitan area rate of 756 per 100,000 people. Despite this, the Broome location is some 18-months behind its originally announced opening date of late 2023 and was the last DV hub to start delivering interim services in November 2024. It is the third hub to open its dedicated facility in WA behind Kalgoorlie and Mirrabooka, which were officially launched in December 2020 and Perth in October 2024 after being announced in April 2024. An Armadale hub, announced at the same time as the Broome hub in 2022, started delivering interim services in September 2023 and is expected to transfer into full service delivery in 2025. Ms Stojkovski said the delay in finding a location for the Broome Hub was due to logistical challenges and the need to find a culturally appropriate site. 'It was logistics more than anything else, it took a long time to find a culturally appropriate place,' she said. Asked whether there was potential for another hub in Derby near where a woman was allegedly murdered by a man known to her in April, Ms Stojkovski said a lack of funding remained a barrier. 'If there was no restriction on money, we would have a hub everywhere but that's not feasible in a State such as WA,' she said. MOSAC chief executive Peter Mitchell said it had been a balancing act between finding an appropriate location and delivering the service in a timely manner. 'Going back to the whole issue of delay . . . we needed to get this right and not offer a half-baked option,' he said. 'The balance has been to make sure that we've got all the correct staff and all the resources we need before pushing it out to the general public while also recognising there are women still being harmed and you can't just close the door. So it's been a balancing act.' He also recognised funding was an issue, but said more services were needed to tackle domestic violence in remote areas. 'Let's acknowledge that there aren't enough services. The community would like more services, particularly outside of the Broome,' Mr Mitchell said. 'This is a great facility and we do have outreach services in Derby and Bidyadanga, but there's so many other places that also require that.' Acknowledging the delay, Kimberley MLA Divina D'Anna said there was no one solution in tackling domestic violence. 'I do understand that it is a long time coming, and I'd also like to put on record that this is not the silver bullet,' she said. 'There are services in Broome and in outreach . . . in Kununurra and Derby. So there are services. Everyone's playing their part to try and get ahead of this.' It comes as a landmark study into men and domestic violence from the Australian Institute of Family Studies was released on June 3. The study found 35 per cent of men aged 18-65 years have used intimate partner violence in their lifetime, with an estimated 120,000 men nationally each year starting to use it for the first time. It also found men who reported high levels of social support 'all of the time' were 26 per cent less likely to report using intimate partner violence. Federal Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek said early intervention was key to preventing domestic violence. 'We want to stop intimate partner violence before it starts. To do so, we need to do more than respond to it, we need to understand it,' she said. 'That's why this data from Ten to Men is so important. By providing an understanding of what may lead to men using violence, the study gives us a better chance of identifying those at risk of offending and intervening to ensure the healthy development of young men and boys.'
Sydney Morning Herald
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘We want women to defend their rights in court:' Minister defends coercive control law plan
The newly minted minister tasked with addressing Western Australia's record rates of family and domestic violence believes the state is on track to improving women's lives, but has resisted giving a date for criminalising coercive control. Responding to the 9 News Perth special series Turning Point: Lessons from Floreat, which highlighted the issue of family and domestic violence, Prevention of Family and Domestic Violence Minister Jessica Stojkovski said talking about these crimes shouldn't be taboo. 'There is a lot of work that is happening that is improving the lives of women. It's not a perfect solution, nothing is in a community, but I think the things that our government has been doing is implementing those incremental steps,' Stojkovski said. 'Every time we open up conversations, it's a good thing … it's a responsibility of everyone in our society to look after people.' One woman in Australia loses her life to domestic violence every nine days, while Western Australia has the second-highest rate of the crime in the country. In her first sit-down interview since taking on the portfolio, Stojkovski said the damning statistics were due to a number of factors. 'We have started these conversations and these conversations have led to more awareness about family and domestic violence, and awareness ultimately leads to more reports,' Stojkovski said. On the opening episode of Turning Point, harrowing audio of a triple-zero call from a nine-year-old child to WA Police revealed the trauma of family and domestic violence. 'Hello, police emergency? Yes, my mum, my dad is beating my mum up … can you be quiet? My mum is hurt, please help … my dad hit my mum in the stomach or in the head.'
The Age
23-05-2025
- Politics
- The Age
‘We want women to defend their rights in court:' Minister defends coercive control law plan
The newly minted minister tasked with addressing Western Australia's record rates of family and domestic violence believes the state is on track to improving women's lives, but has resisted giving a date for criminalising coercive control. Responding to the 9 News Perth special series Turning Point: Lessons from Floreat, which highlighted the issue of family and domestic violence, Prevention of Family and Domestic Violence Minister Jessica Stojkovski said talking about these crimes shouldn't be taboo. 'There is a lot of work that is happening that is improving the lives of women. It's not a perfect solution, nothing is in a community, but I think the things that our government has been doing is implementing those incremental steps,' Stojkovski said. 'Every time we open up conversations, it's a good thing … it's a responsibility of everyone in our society to look after people.' One woman in Australia loses her life to domestic violence every nine days, while Western Australia has the second-highest rate of the crime in the country. In her first sit-down interview since taking on the portfolio, Stojkovski said the damning statistics were due to a number of factors. 'We have started these conversations and these conversations have led to more awareness about family and domestic violence, and awareness ultimately leads to more reports,' Stojkovski said. On the opening episode of Turning Point, harrowing audio of a triple-zero call from a nine-year-old child to WA Police revealed the trauma of family and domestic violence. 'Hello, police emergency? Yes, my mum, my dad is beating my mum up … can you be quiet? My mum is hurt, please help … my dad hit my mum in the stomach or in the head.'
