Qld domestic violence minister blames former government for system failings

Queensland's embattled domestic and family violence prevention minister has attempted to flip the script, claiming victims of family and domestic violence are "frightened" to seek support due to a "shameful scare campaign" about frontline service funding.Amanda Camm made the sensational statements during a late-night budget estimates hearing on Thursday evening.During estimates, the minister also defied a promise by the premier that she would provide an update on the progress of the implementation of recommendations from a taskforce set up to combat coercive control and domestic violence.Domestic and Family Violence Minister Amanda Camm has faced scrutiny over both domestic violence funding and a rise in young children being held in residential care. (ABC News)The minister has been under fire for weeks, with the Opposition calling for her to be sacked following reports $40 million was axed from the budget for domestic and family violence prevention.The LNP has denied funding was stripped from frontline services, and saying the gap in the budget was for the women's safety and justice taskforce, which was "time-limited" and had been "delivered".Minister Camm began her opening statement for the domestic and family violence prevention portfolio by saying Labor had orchestrated a "shameful," "perverse" "scare campaign" against her.She said she had been contacted by several domestic violence victim-survivors, who told her they were now planning their own funerals and taking out life insurance "in the event that they were murdered at the hands of their perpetrator"."Over the past week alone, several women have told us they are now even more frightened to seek support because they believe, based on what they are hearing on social media and in the media, that service will not be there when they need them," she told estimates.On Thursday during estimates, Director-General Belinda Drew said $10.569 million had been re-allocated from domestic and family violence services to "other families initiatives".Ms Drew said it was re-invested in financial counselling, emergency relief and other programs.The state government has allocated $340.7 million towards DFV prevention in the 2026-27 financial year. (ABC News: Michael Lloyd)Minister refuses to table progress for landmark reportOn July 19, Premier David Crisafulli promised media that Ms Camm would provide an update on the progress of the implementation of recommendations from reports by the women's safety and justice taskforce."I will ask the minister to update as part of the estimates process … I'll allow the minister to give you the exact numbers," Mr Crisafulli told media nearly a fortnight ago.The taskforce made 277 recommendations to the state government across two reports handed down in 2021 and 2022.On Thursday evening, Shadow Treasurer Shannon Fentiman came to collect that update, but was left wanting.Despite Ms Fentiman repeatedly asking for Ms Camm to table the update, the minister did not.In a response spanning 10 minutes, Ms Camm said her government had stood up a peak body for domestic and family violence and another for sexual violence."The premier promised an update, but the minister defied him by refusing time and time again to provide the status of all recommendations," Ms Fentiman said in a statement."It's about time the premier draws a line in the and removes this underperforming minister."Ms Camm did not respond to the ABC's request for a clear breakdown of the implementation of the recommendations, but during estimates said more had been done under her government than Labor."We want to make sure that when we deliver upon these recommendations, that we're not just closing in them out and ticking a box, that we're actually going to evaluate them," Ms Camm told estimates.Earlier in the evening, during the probe of the child safety portfolio, the committee heard more than 6400 child safety cases have not been investigated following an IT failure that put Queensland youth in state care at risk.The bungled $183 million 'Unify' system — a platform which tracked the records of around 16 thousand children in state care — was put under the microscope last year, after it was revealed gaps in the program were putting children at risk.Ms Drew revealed there was currently a backlog of 8,140 case assessments and 78 per cent had not been commenced as of June 30.