Dozens of volunteers who help victims of domestic and family violence navigate the Victorian legal system will disappear from courthouses across the country following a withdrawal of hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding from the federal government.
After learning in January the Attorney-General’s Department would cease renewal for an annual $300k funding package, Victorian-based non-profit Court Network will be forced to begin wrapping up their work in Federal courthouses in Victoria, Queensland and New South Wales as soon as the end of June.
Court Network Executive Director Kate Kahill, who refers to her volunteers as “court networkers” said she “couldn’t fathom” the potential negative impacts of being forced to stand her staff down.
Court networkers are volunteers who receive specialist training to help people – more than half of whom are victims of family and domestic violence – navigate the complexities of any given day in court.
They volunteer at the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, as well as local, children’s, coroners and county courts across Victoria.
[Ed: This will ensure there are no independent voices to report on the continuing human rights breaches occurring within the Family Court jurisdiction.]