The George Town Council may become the first municipality in Tasmania to adopt a domestic/family and sexual violence strategy after voting to create a policy on the issue.
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At the council's meeting on Tuesday it passed a motion to develop a domestic/family and sexual violence strategy, after councillor Justine Brooks put the motion forward.
Despite voting against the motion, mayor Greg Keiser said what the policy would look like was not known at this stage.
"I think the core of it is to do the homework to truly understand how we can make a difference and how we can do so within our resource constrain," he said.
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"By no means are we over represented in terms of domestic violence, I think we are proportional to the rest of Tasmania and we did have a look at some national statistics.
"Councillor Brooks is very close to the data and understanding the insidious nature of the problem, so I think it just makes sense."
Brisbane City Council were the first municipality in Australia to implement a similar strategy.
The policy will likely see the council working with police, housing providers and community service organisations.
At the meeting, Cr Brooks asked the council to tackle the important issue by committing to developing a strategy.
"Domestic and sexual violence is a very real issue for George Town but I am mindful not to stigmatise our region because [it] is an issue for every community," she said.
"Local governments play a crucial role in driving change which can prevent domestic and family violence in communities and having a dedicated strategic plan would outline how we want all our residents and visitors to feel safe and live free from violence."
The motion was passed seven to two, with Cr Keiser and Cr Peter Parkes voting against it.
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