Therese BINGE

Therese Binge, 43, disappeared from Goondiwindi on July 18, 2003. Her body was found 12 days later beneath a concrete culvert about 10km southwest of Boggabilla, NSW.

 RESPONSES TO CORONER'S RECOMMENDATIONS (Recommendations made prior to 1 July 2009


Name of deceased:
Therese Beatrice BINGE

Date of Finding

Location

Year of Death

Coroner

Cause of death

Agency

04/02/2009

Glebe

2004

Milledge

Homicide

NSW Government

Rec
ommendation

That the NSW Government give urgent consideration to firstly drafting and placing before Parliament legislation, and secondly
, conducting the necessary negotiations with other states to permit the NSW Police Force to operate effectively in Bord
er towns, regardless of the existing State border


Response:

The New South Wales Attorney General has agreed to the implementation of national model laws on cross-
border investigative powers through the Standing Committee of Attorneys General.


Attorney General, Minister for Aboriginal
Affairs and Premiers

Recommendation

That Aboriginal communities, particularly remote communities in NSW, be provided with timely and professional counselling and victim support services immediately following a suspicious death of a member of that community. That person should be sensitive to the issues that concern Aboriginal people.


Response:
Department of Aboriginal Affairs has an increased regional presence to assist in increasing the capacity and resilience of individuals and communities. A focus on regional staff knowledge of Victims Services (VS) will be undertaken.


DJAG: immediate family members are eligible for counselling under the Approved Counselling Scheme (ACS) where it is presumed that a death is the result of homicide.


Referrals in these situations are prompt and all efforts are made to locate an Approved Counellor asap to take up the referral.

VS would make all efforts to refer the family to an Approved Counsellor who has indicated in their application that they have appropriate training and experience in working with Aboriginal clients.


Whilst it is often difficult to locate counsellors in rural and remote regions, we have successfully trialed a service in Bourke/Walgett where we fund an approved counsellor to attend on a regular basis to provide regular therapeutic services. This has been so successful, VS are going to enter into a similar process in Condobolin and would consider this as an option in any community that experienced a homicide in an Aboriginal community given the high level of vulnerability of these family victims.

The Approved Counselling Scheme is a specialist service focused on the impact of crime to eligible applicants and provides individual and family counselling rather than community or group work approach. Alternatively Victims Services will work with local service providers such as the AMS , Aboriginal Health Workers and Family Violence Workers or more likely to work with communities rather than individuals.


In 2010 VS will be undertaking a targeted strategy to recruit counsellors to the ACS in those areas where there are gaps in s
ervice delivery  - this will include rural areas and Aboriginal counsellors.


Victims Services will also be renewing all existing MOUs with new provisions requiring them to evidence their experience and
training in working with Aboriginal victims. VS are looking to establish a competency criteria, that counsellors will be required to meet before VS will refer Aboriginal clients. To give the counsellors an opportunity to bring their skills up to speed over the past two years VS have provided tailored competency based training for working with Aboriginal victims through the Education Centre Against Violence.


VS also introduced the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Contact Line in July 2008. A combination of these strategies has
already resulted in a 40% increase in Aboriginal victims applying for counselling since July 2008.

That an Aboriginal Community Liaison Officer or other equivalent specialist be deployed and utilised to interview any member of the Aboriginal community who wishes to give information regarding the disappearance and death of Therese Binge. All relevant information is to be collected and submitted via the NSW Police Eagle Eye System for analysis as part of the ongoing investigation.


Response:
The matter has been referred to the Unsolved Homicide Team for attention. The matter has been captured on the database and will be progressed at the earliest opportunity.