Paul's personal story
I was with my partner for 11 months not living together no kids just see each other for travel and weekends away. We planned a holiday away to Bali together and my partner left a week earlier than me and I met her a week later.
When I arrived everything was just perfect as it had been for the past 11 months. Then 2 days later out of the blue she beat the hell out of me with a wooden stick in Bali and then the next day stole $4000 dollars Australian from the safe that was mine.
It seems my former ex had found out and rang her and said some nasty stuff about me. My ex has been out of my life for 3 years but constantly stalks me. So I end up in hospital and report it to the police in Bali and the Australian Consulate. By then my partner had fled Bali and back to Australia and put a false DVO on me.
I went to court and the judge said, "I don't care what she did to you in Bali. Police reports and medical reports mean nothing." I asked the question why she has the right to put a DVO on me when I was assaulted and robbed. His answer was, "in her statement she fears you". That's all she put. No violence. No name calling. No nothing. But the judge said, and I quote, "I don't care what happened in Bali. It's not domestic violence." It didn't happen here in Queensland.
We both live here. We are both Australian. The AFP police want nothing to do with it. The local police won't help. So if you beat up your partner overseas and bob them, it's fine. You can't be touched in Australia.
This DVO system in Queensland is just ridiculous and it's not being used properly by women and men. Judges treat men like idiots. The one I had was against me and treated me like nothing. He even asked if I had enough money to go to a mention and said I will be paying her legal bill.
It's just not fair. Please publish this. Domestic violence, wherever in the world you are, is domestic violence. This judge says it is not.