Canterbury-Bankstown Mayor Khal Asfour is calling on the NSW Attorney General to stop discriminating against Domestic Violence sufferers in our community.

Mayor Asfour’s broadside follows the launch of a joint television campaign between the State Government, Crime Stoppers and NSW Police.

The campaign urges people to contact police if they see or hear domestic violence but Mayor Asfour says local families who want help are falling between the cracks.

It comes after Mayor Asfour last week wrote to the Attorney General and Minister for the Prevention of Domestic Violence Mark Speakman, and the Commanders of both Campsie and Bankstown Police Area Command to seek greater support in his local government area.

“It has been brought to my attention that Ca​nterbury-Bankstown has been left off the State Government’s Staying Home Leaving Violence program,” Mayor Asfour said.

The program works in conjunction with NSW Police to remove perpetrators from family hom​es and provides a range of support such as safety planning, finance management and support for children.

It is available to more than 30 local government areas, which are listed on the NSW Department of Communities and Justice website.

“It’s a huge disappointment that, although we’re the biggest local government area in NSW, we’re simply being forgotten in a program that’s available in other surrounding council areas,” Mayor Asfour said.

“The incidence of domestic violence is ever increasing in our City with four cases reported daily, and as a strong advocate on domestic violence issues I’ve been doing all I can to champion a change in our community.”

Earlier this month Mayor Asfour launched a City-wide Council campaign with a simple message: say YES to healthy relationships and NO to domestic violence.

Mayor Asfour said it disturbed him that others able to do more in supporting vulnerable members of the community, are leaving their stones unturned.

“It’s crucial all levels of government work together to ensure people and their families in our community receive the help and support they need during such stressful times so that we can ultimately save lives. Literally,” he said. 

Help is available if you, or someone you know, is experiencing domestic or family violence.

• Call 000 in an emergency;
• 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) is a confidential information, counselling and support service;
• NSW Domestic Violence Line (1800 65 64 63) is a state-wide telephone crisis counselling and referral service for women;
• Men’s Referral Service (1300 766 491) provide telephone counselling, information and referrals for men; and
• Lifeline (13 11 14) is a national charity providing all Australians experiencing a personal crisis with access to 24-hour crisis support and suicide prevention services.