Amanda Stoker named Queensland's domestic violence prevention minister, drawing criticism

Former federal senator Amanda Stoker has been appointed Queensland's minister for the prevention of domestic and family violence, an appointment that has drawn criticism from women's safety advocates. AAP News reported that she was appointed on Saturday, 24 October, replacing Amanda Camm, who resigned from the role.

Queensland Government House records list her official portfolio as Minister for Families, Seniors and Disability Services and Minister for Child Safety and the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence. The child safety system, which looks after children at risk of harm, falls within her responsibilities. The Premier said her priorities will include refining the state's domestic and family violence laws, according to a government statement.

Stoker was chosen for the Australian Senate in 2018, left the Senate in 2022 and was elected to the Queensland parliament in 2024. She has also been a headline speaker at anti-abortion rallies.

The concerns from advocates centre on statements Stoker made in the past that have resurfaced. The Guardian reported that they include remarks that people should not "blindly" believe women who allege violence.

In a 2023 opinion piece published by the Menzies Research Centre, a think tank, Stoker criticised victim-focused criminal justice reforms. She wrote that pressure to believe complaints rather than carefully assess relevant evidence "is prone to cause great harm to innocent defendants." The piece argued that such pressure would harm people wrongly accused.

Grace Tame, a former Australian of the Year and a prominent advocate for survivors of sexual abuse, described the appointment as "disappointing." Tame had also criticised Stoker's 2021 appointment to the federal outer ministry, a group of federal ministers who sit outside cabinet.

Some organisations in the community sector publicly welcomed the appointment.