$7.6m package for victims of crime

By SCOTT MacLEOD

Victims of crime are to be helped to attend trials, learn more about their rights and deal with problems at court.

Government ministers yesterday pledged $7,657,000 over four years in a victims' rights package that aims to help those entwined in the court system.

Some agencies greeted the payout as a blessing for some victims, but lamented that their own organisations would see little or none of the money.

Courts Minister Matt Robson and Justice Minister Phil Goff said the bulk of the cash - nearly $6.3 million - would be spent expanding the existing Court Services for Victims programme to cover the whole country.

Other projects included:

* A $676,000 pilot scheme aimed at helping child victims and witnesses, who are "particularly vulnerable" in the court environment.

* A $510,000 travel fund to help the Victim Support service assist people to attend court.

* A $190,000 handout for a scheme to teach victims about the law and some new rights they are expected to have this year under proposed legislation.

Mr Goff said the new rights would give sex-crime victims a say in their abusers' bail conditions and whether the accused should be given name suppression. Courts at present often suppress the names of sex criminals to protect their victims - even if the victims want the abusers to be named.

Also, gender bias would be removed from sex-crime laws.

Victim Support chief executive Steve Caldwell said the package was "substantial," and he hoped some of the new services would be tendered out to community groups.

"We are providing emotional support to victims before, during and after they appear in court, but our funding for 76 branches is only $1.1 million a year," he said.

The spokeswoman for the National Collective of Rape Crisis and Related Groups, Claire Benson, said Rape Crisis received funding of just $350,000 a year, and her organisation was one of several community groups struggling to survive.