More women and children could receive help to escape domestic and family violence in the Orange area, providing Labor wins the upcoming federal election.
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Opposition spokeswoman for families and social services Linda Burney MP promised funding for five new community sector workers in Orange if Labor becomes the government.
"These additional workers could help up to 400 women experiencing violence who might otherwise be turned away," Ms Burney said.
Ms Burney is working with Senator Jenny McAllister, the opposition spokeswoman for communities and family violence, on the project, which would be a $153.4 million nation-wide commitment over four years.
"The overall funding commitment is for 500 community sector workers from across Australia, half of those for regional and remote communities," Ms Burney said.
"The reason that we believe that there's a need for five of these workers in the Orange community is because Orange is clearly a very large town in the Central West.
"There were hundreds of women turned away last year from services [in Orange] because there just wasn't the capacity for services to be able to support those women.
"There's a real need for such workers in Orange and that was very clear when I visited there over the last few months and I think it shouldn't be whether or not it is a marginal seat, I think it should be about need."
Ms Burney said in 2021, up to September, there were 312 calls for domestic violence support in Orange.
She said in 2018, 138 women were turned away from organisations that did not have the capacity to help them, and since then services have been further stretched by the increase in demand for their services throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
"More women than ever before are experiencing violence for the first time and seeking help," Ms Burney said.
"Leaving a violent relationship is the hardest and most dangerous thing that many people will ever do.
"We know that having a community sector worker there to help makes all the difference."
Ms Burney said a single domestic violence case worker may help 80 to 100 women and children over the course of a year and frontline workers have told her they need help.
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Tanya Marschke
I am based at Orange and cover a wide range of subjects as well as the weekly business column. I've worked consistently in the the media industry since 2006 including the past seven years at the Central Western Daily. Before moving to Orange, I worked as a journalist at weekly newspapers the Beaudesert Times and the Gold Coast Sun in Queensland, as well as the Scone Advocate in the Hunter Valley. I started my career at the Ridge News in Lightning Ridge while I completed my journalism studies remotely at Charles Sturt University in Bathurst.
I am based at Orange and cover a wide range of subjects as well as the weekly business column. I've worked consistently in the the media industry since 2006 including the past seven years at the Central Western Daily. Before moving to Orange, I worked as a journalist at weekly newspapers the Beaudesert Times and the Gold Coast Sun in Queensland, as well as the Scone Advocate in the Hunter Valley. I started my career at the Ridge News in Lightning Ridge while I completed my journalism studies remotely at Charles Sturt University in Bathurst.
