The former Australian governor-general Quentin Bryce says the gravity and severity of domestic violence in Queensland is far worse than people realise.
Former Australian governor-general Quentin Bryce is chairing an inquiry into domestic violence in Queensland. Photo: REUTERS
Dame Quentin, who is chairing a domestic violence taskforce, said the state's police had been overwhelmed by the 64,000 cases of domestic violence reported in the past year, and the 58,000 the year before..
She said domestic violence was increasing not just in terms of the number of cases but in the severity of the violence inflicted, the ABC reports.
"We're gravely worried by the fact that domestic violence is increasing not just in incidence, but also in the gravity, the nature of the violence," she said.
"My intuition tells me that we're seeing the tip of the iceberg."
Dame Quentin said there were some good examples of how to deal with the issue and a strategy could be developed that drew on that experience.
"We've got to make recommendations that are really well informed and have some strength and guts."
The taskforce report is due in February.