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227 WAYS TO END FAMILY VIOLENCE

TIMEFOR

ACTIONSPECIAL REPORTS PAGES 4-7

VICTIMS’ FAMILIES DEMAND IMMEDIATE ACTION TO SAVE LIVES

ROYAL COMMISSION PROPOSES OVERHAUL OF POLICING, SOCIAL SERVICES AND COURTS

REPORT URGES POLICE BODY CAMERAS, SAFETY HUBS AND MORE CRISIS HOUSING

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Cops drop probes over Nixon DISGRACED AFL playeragent Ricky Nixon has boastedon social media after policedropped probes into claims ofoffensive online behaviour anda courtroom assault.

Police arrested the 52-year-old in Port Melbourne on De-cember 1 over accusations heposted a photo of a young girlon Facebook with the com-ment: “Next f---”.

On December 3, he was ac-cused of kicking “St Kilda

schoolgirl” Kim Duthie duringa Melbourne Magistrates’Court hearing about his con-troversial memoir, My Side.

But yesterday Nixon tookto social media to declare thatboth investigations had closed.

“Police confirmed that thematter is at an end and there isnothing to answer,” he said re-garding the alleged courtroomincident. “Oh and they also

confirmed that the matter in-volving a FB comment to ahater is also at an end withnothing to answer to.”

Victoria Police spokeswom-an Natalie Webster said de-tectives had concluded theirinvestigation into a photo-graph of a child posted on so-cial media late last year.

The Herald Sun is seekingcomment as to whether the as-sault investigation has beenwithdrawn.

ANGUS THOMPSON

Ricky Nixon

EX-MODEL’S CANCER VOWMODEL and TV host Janice Dickinson has revealed she has breast cancer and vowed to battle the disease.

Dickinson said a “pea-size” lump was found in her right breast during a visit to the doctor on March 8. Three days after the lump was discovered, she had a mammogram and a biopsy. She will undergo surgery and radiation therapy.

OBESE MUMS’WEAN WORRY OBESE mums are more likely to stop breastfeeding before smaller women and it appears poor body image is to blame, a Queensland study has found.

Half of the obese womeninvolved in the study of first-time mothers stopped breastfeeding their newborns within six months, compared with 18 per cent of women with low body fat.

Principal bullying claims go to courtAN elite Melbourne privateschool’s former marketing di-rector and former parent hasadmitted to being behind amystery Twitter account set upto savage the principal online.

Nicola Holland unmaskedherself as the curious “Mr T”,accusing The Peninsula Schoolprincipal Stuart Johnston ofnepotism, bullying and finan-cial mismanagement in a Su-preme Court document.

Mr Johnston has launcheddefamation proceedingsagainst Mrs Holland, accusingher of using the Twitter handle@TanPersonSays to discredithim on social media betweenJanuary and June last year.

“The plaintiff was widelyknown in The PeninsulaSchool community as a man oftanned complexion,” Mr John-ston says in his statement.

He also complains of MrsHolland using an image on theTwitter account “which bearsan unflattering resemblance tothe plaintiff”.

Mr Johnston claims MrsHolland accused him of pro-moting his friends to theschool board, misappropriat-ing parent association funds,and presiding over a culture ofbullying “for the purpose of ad-vancing a malicious campaignto remove the plaintiff as prin-cipal of the Peninsula School.”

One of the tweets in ques-tion says, “claims that some-one has had their hand in thetill!”, referring to accusations offinancial abuse.

He claims Mrs Holland in-itially denied any involvementwith the controversial socialmedia account when ap-proached by his lawyers in Au-gust last year.

In her February defenceMrs Holland revealed herselfas having written tweets usingthe moniker, but did not admitto publishing the offendingtweets, and denied their al-leged imputations.

She went on to clarify eachimputation, declaring that ifthey were found to be defama-tory, then they were true insubstance and fact.

Mrs Holland claims in herdefence that Mr Johnston re-cruited his golf teacher to theschool board and employed hisstepdaughter at the school.

The case is set to go to trialin the Supreme Court.

ANGUS THOMPSON

Premier Daniel Andrewswill address victims and themedia after the report is ta-bled, but the government willtake time to consider the re-port before giving a response.

The release of the reportcomes as victims, picturedbelow, call for a boost to fund-ing for family violence servi-ces, and after the minister forthe prevention of family viol-ence, Fiona Richardson, re-vealed her family’s history ofviolence at her father’s hands.

Ms Richardson told theHerald Sun she wants today’sreport to be the starting pointfor “reforms that will last ageneration”.

The minister has revealed

her wishlist for family viol-ence reform includes:A VICTIM-centred responseto family violence, with child-ren at the forefront;TOUGHER penalties for per-petrators where required;PERPETRATORS beingheld to account in ways thatresult in behaviour change,including help for those whowant to change;VICTIMS to get services theywant and need, and end the si-loing around responses;REFORMS that will last ageneration with measuresthat will withstand budgetand election cycles.

Ms Richardson also wantsschools and workplaces tohave a greater role in early in-tervention and even use “thereligion of Vic-

Royal commission to release new family violence report

ASHLEY ARGOON AND MATT JOHNSTON

Victims’ voices

Fiona Richardson with her mum, Veronica Power.

THE CALLS FOR REFORM■ A family violence register (Victoria Police)

■ Early education on family violence, even as young as kinder (Rosie Batty)

■ More public housing (Dr Angela Spinney, Swinburne University of Technology)

■ More police resources (Police Association)

■ A specific family violence offence to protect women and children from abuse in their own homes (Andrews government)

■ Law changes to allow courts the power to strike out intervention order appeals (County Court)

■ On-the-spot intervention orders (Victoria Police)

■ Mandatory reporting of family violence by health professionals (Victoria Police)

■ Better court safety and security (victims)

FALIANA LEE, 48, Mt Waverley

What I really expect is increased funding for women’s centres and specialist help to speak to someone face to face for legal advice.

toria’s sport” to prevent viol-ence.

“We can’t spend or policeour way out of this family vi-olence crisis,” said the minis-ter, who briefly lived in arefuge as a child after hermother and brothers escapedher violent father.

“This reform is going totake time and it’s going totake everyone within thecommunity playing theirpart.”

Her mother, VeronicaPower, said it took years toleave her violent husband be-cause she and her childrenhad nowhere else to go.

The royal commission re-ceived almost 1000 submis-sions, half from individualsand half from organisations.ashley.argoon@news.com.au

NEW specialist family viol-ence services and a fresh focuson early intervention will beamong recommendations inAustralia’s first royal commis-sion report into family viol-ence released today.

The report, which washanded to Governor LindaDessau yesterday, will be re-leased publicly this morningin state parliament.

Commissioner MarciaNeave has spent months lis-tening to victim advocates,police, behaviour experts andsocial welfare campaignersoutline a broken system andideas for reform. Witnesseshave shared their harrowingstories and called for changesto intervention orders, courtsafety procedures and newemergency housing.

MIM,51, Forest Hill

I’m hoping it will be more clearer about what family violence is — a lot of people don’t even know what it is. It’s about power and control with an emphasis on patriarchy and gender stereotypes.

.

DANIELA SCHNEIDER, 34, Burwood

What I’m hoping for is more funding for prevention in terms of gender equality and getting rid of stereotypes.

KRISTY MCKELLAR,35, Melbourne

I would like to see the importance of survivor input into policy design, which would help to ensure a successful family violence system moving forward.