KEY POINTS:
Police will be able to issue immediate orders forcing potentially abusive partners to leave their homes for cool-down periods of up to 72 hours under changes to domestic violence laws unveiled yesterday.
Justice Minister Annette King announced the step as part of a wider raft of changes to the Domestic Violence Act that followed a major review and consultation last year.
A recommendation for such short-term orders was widely supported in that review and Ms King said it provided families with greater immediate protection.
"It is a big change and something that will be widely applauded."
The idea was broached in 2006 by Assistant Police Commissioner Roger Carson after similar measures were introduced in Australian states in 2004 and 2005. It was picked up by National Party leader John Key as party policy in November last year.
Police are called to about 71,000 domestic violence cases a year. They currently have few tools to deal with potentially dangerous situations beyond advising families to leave the home themselves and seek help from family or Women's Refuge.
The new orders would also allow time for victims to apply for longer-term protection orders where necessary.
Yesterday, National Party law and order spokesman Simon Power said he was "flattered" Labour had picked up on the policy but queried why it had taken so long.
"We believe giving police the ability to issue on-the-spot protection orders for suspected victims of domestic violence will be very effective in putting their immediate safety first. It's a pity it took Labour eight years to do anything about it."
However, Ms King said Mr Power was "missing the mark" on the issue by turning it into a political matter. She said the Ministry of Justice was already working on the proposal before Mr Key announced it as National Party policy.
Ms King said the change was the result of broad consultation and had support from groups including Women's Refuge, which had initially opposed the suggestion.
Yesterday, a spokeswoman for Women's Refuge said the announcement had come "out of left field" and the organisation would not comment until it had time to consider the suite of proposals.
After Mr Key's announcement last November, the head of Women's Refuge, Heather Henare, said it had changed its initial opposition to the short-term orders after studying the Australian use of them. She said it was useful because it required the man to leave the home. It was useful in cases where alcohol was a problem, because it provided time to "dry out" and saved the woman from having to leave the home.
The Police Association had also expressed support for the measure as well as Auckland Civil Liberties chairman Barry Wilson, provided such orders lasted 72 hours only and those subject to them had somewhere to go.
The new "safety orders' will require a potentially violent person to stay away from their home for up to 72 hours in cases where police believe there is a likelihood of violence, but do not have a basis for arrest.
Police will also be able to detain a person for up to two hours while the order is processed to allow them to remove the person from the house immediately.
Those who breach the order by returning to the house or contacting their partner or children can be detained for up to 24 hours, and penalised with a consecutive 72-hour safety order. Cabinet papers on the change show police are not expected to offer alternative accommodation to those facing the new orders, although they must consider whether they face undue hardship.
Ms King said the Government had consulted widely on it as well as other changes, including stronger penalties of up to two years' imprisonment for breaching protection orders.
The changes will also require the Family Court to assess for itself whether there is a risk of future violence before deciding to drop a protection order, after concern that those protected were often pressured to ask the court to drop the order.
Among other changes are stronger penalties for breaching protection orders and requiring courts to give reasons when they refuse applications for protection orders.
