Surging domestic violence deaths: Queensland premier sends SOS to PM Abbott to hold urgent national crisis summit

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has urged Prime Minister Tony Abbott to immediately hold a national crisis summit to address the menace of family violence in the country. This follows a spate of recent deaths related to domestic violence in the Queensland state.

In Queensland, two women and a child were killed in separate incidents in the second week of September, while a Brisbane woman was charged in the week-end for attempted murder on a man, who was her former partner.

The governor, told ABC News that domestic violence was not just confined to Queensland.

“Let's come together, let's tackle this issue as a nation and let's see what is the best practice that is occurring in each state and territory. Surely that's not too hard for the PM to say, yes, I am taking a leadership role in this issue."

The premier said the time has come to act decisively and to come together as a nation as soon as possible. According to ABC News, the cabinet meeting on Monday will consider several measures against family violence, including a “no wait” policy at police stations and supply hundreds of body cameras to officers for gathering evidence. The meeting will also contemplate tougher penalties against the perpetrators of violence.

The Prime Minister reportedly wanted the issue to be handled at the level of Council of Australian Governments, which will meet in November to discuss it. The COAG leaders have already agreed on a national domestic violence order by the end of 2015.

Bill Shorten’s plea

Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten made a fresh appeal to convene a national crisis summit on domestic violence after reports of shocking attacks against women came in. The Opposition Leader personally wrote letters to Prime Minister Tony Abbott and other leaders of state and territories, urging them to get behind his proposal for a summit in the Great Hall of Parliament House in Canberra on Oct. 12.

"An Australia where every woman is safe at home, secure in the community and supported by the system would be a significant achievement in Australia's national interest,” Shorten said in the letter.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Shorten highlighted the deaths of 62 Australian women in 2015, allegedly at the hands of a partner, former partner or someone known to them.

“In the past week, we witnessed further shocking events in Queensland and Victoria that have highlighted the need for urgent and meaningful action on this important issue,” Shorten wrote in his letter to Mr Abbott.

Shocking incidents

Among the recent gruesome incidents were -- Gold Coast woman Tara Brown’s death in a hospital after an estranged partner rammed her car off the road and she got trapped in the wreckage. Karina Lock was shot dead at McDonald's on the Gold Coast by former husband Stephen Lock, who later shot himself dead.

Brisbane woman Zarah Farah Abdi was attacked by an ex-partner though she survived. In another incident, a mining executive named Stephen Philip Playford allegedly killed his six-year-old daughter in his Brisbane home.

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