In Budget Estimates, Abigail put the spotlight on the concerning rise in needle spiking across NSW in bars, pubs and clubs.
Ms ABIGAIL BOYD: Minister Harrison, I spoke with you and some of the Liquor and Gaming folks at the previous estimates about drink spiking. We have made progress on building drink spiking into training for bar staff and others who need to be aware of it. But one of the issues I started raising questions about a couple of years ago is in relation to needle spiking, because there were reports of it happening around Newcastle. In yesterday's news it was reported that it was happening at the end of last year in Byron Bay as well. This has become a difficult issue in the United Kingdom, where hundreds of people are being needle spiked in bars. Is this an issue that you have been made aware of, and is there anything that you are already doing in relation to needle spiking?
Ms JODIE HARRISON (Minister for Women, Minister for Seniors, and Minister for the Prevention of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault): Specifically relating to needle spiking, within my portfolio, no. But needle spiking, particularly if it's used as a way of perpetrating violence, is certainly a gendered violence issue.
Ms ABIGAIL BOYD: And it's emerging, so I'm not expecting you to have necessarily been all over this, but I understand that New South Wales doesn't yet keep any data in relation to this either. Is this something that you would look into?
Ms JODIE HARRISON: I'll just refer to Ms Campbell about this, because I believe that she has some information on it.
ANNE CAMPBELL (Deputy Secretary, Strategy, Policy and Commissioning, Department of Communities and Justice): Yes, I have some information from BOCSAR. The crime data shows New South Wales police recorded 16 assaults in the 12 months to March 2024 where the weapon used was recorded as a syringe. The equivalent number in the previous year to March 2023 was 15. Of the 16 incidents last year, none were recorded as occurring in a nightclub, but four were in a hotel or a pub.
Ms ABIGAIL BOYD: Interesting. Similar to drink spiking, we are being told by victims' organisations that this is something that people feel is difficult to come forward about because there is a bit of stigma around what may happen once you have been drugged. What we're hearing is that the police are not necessarily well trained on this and that bar staff aren't either. Could I ask you, Minister, to begin to highlight this issue with the police Minister and with Minister Harris in terms of his responsibilities for liquor and gaming, to see if there is something more we can do on this, similar to what we've done for drink spiking?
Ms JODIE HARRISON: Yes. In relation to licensed venues and, basically, anywhere where there are workplaces and where there are places of service, again, people need to feel safe. Within SafeWork there is a Respect at Work Taskforce that works on ensuring that employers, places of work, are complying with their new responsibilities to be proactively acting to make sure that their workplaces are safe workplaces. That doesn't particularly go towards the needle-spiking issue.
Ms ABIGAIL BOYD: No.
Ms JODIE HARRISON: But it goes to certain industries. The Government is keen to do further work in that space.
Ms ABIGAIL BOYD: I'll come back to that issue in a minute. Ms Tonkin, are you aware of the increasing awareness around needle spiking? Is this an issue which has come to you and is there anything that you have been doing about it in your role?
HANNAH TONKIN (Women's Safety Commissioner, Department of Communities and Justice): I'm aware of the issue. We're just following it generally. We don't have anything proactive. We can look at that, certainly, in my office. We have been working on the drink-spiking issue in general in the past, but we can certainly look more closely at the needle spiking.
Ms ABIGAIL BOYD: I would appreciate that. Maybe this is one of those issues we can get ahead of before it balloons, like it has in the UK. Minister, there have been relatively recent revelations about the workplace culture in certain parts of our night-time economy—in certain nightclubs and restaurants and things. It has been alleged that some workplaces have a culture of sexual harassment and assault, where it's accepted to a degree. I asked Minister Harris and Minister Graham about this in their respective roles. In your role, will you be involved in the response to that, that I understand the 24-Hour Economy Commissioner is running?
Ms JODIE HARRISON: My understanding is that SafeWork NSW is doing some investigations into those issues.
Ms ABIGAIL BOYD: Ms Tonkin, are you part of that?
HANNAH TONKIN: Yes. I have been speaking to Commissioner Rodrigues over the past couple of weeks about that. We're working on that in partnership, and looking at training for the industry as well, and some of the things that have been put together in the past and how we can improve the implementation of that as well.
Ms ABIGAIL BOYD: I put this to Minister Graham the other day. It seems to me there are two parts of this puzzle and perhaps one of them is stickier than the other. There is the workplace safety aspect and making sure that employers are very aware of their obligations in relation to creating a culture that is free from sexual harassment and assault, and also responding to it appropriately. But then there is also what I refer to as the stickier issue, which is a general culture around the service industry where misogyny can take a bit of a front foot. The customer is always right. You get people in an environment where they're drinking and who feel that as a customer they are able to harass or assault a woman who is in that service position. That, to me, seems like a broader societal issue, but government could play a role by coming in with a very strong education campaign around treating those workers with respect, to try to change that cultural norm. I will go to you first, Ms Tonkin. Is that something that you will be looking at as part of this review with Commissioner Rodrigues?
HANNAH TONKIN: We can certainly look at that. There is also, as part of the work for the primary prevention strategy, some funding for campaigns as well. That's over four years, but we can certainly look at that issue as part of the various campaigns that we are looking at.
Ms ABIGAIL BOYD: Minister, is that part of your role or part of your portfolio responsibilities as well—and it has no easy answer—that sort of directed, targeted education around women's safety?
Ms JODIE HARRISON: Absolutely. As Commissioner Tonkin mentioned, the primary prevention strategy is a key part of that. The Government also has a Domestic and Family Violence Corporate Leadership Group, which we are currently expanding—refreshing the membership on. There is, certainly, a need to ensure that cross-industries are represented on that so that there are some good leaders on that group to feed into government what is happening out there, and what good work is happening out there, and what more we can do to facilitate improved actions by places of employment.
Read the full transcript here.
11 September 2024