It has been three weeks since Molly Ticehurst was killed in her rural home, allegedly at the hands of her former partner.
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The death of the 28-year-old mother and early educator was front of mind for many when Premier Chris Minns hosted a community cabinet meeting in Orange, central-western NSW, on Friday afternoon.
Ms Ticehurst's death in Forbes, 120km west of Orange, has sparked a passionate movement against domestic violence across the region, where the rate of DV assaults is one-and-a-half times the state average.
The case has also prompted proposed changes to NSW laws to make it harder for accused perpetrators to get bail.
Magistrates will have to consider "red flag" behaviour such as coercive control, strangulation and animal abuse under the proposed changes.
Jacinda Acheson, a Forbes local and friend of the Ticehurst family, told Mr Minns there was only one domestic violence case worker in the Lachlan Shire, which covers more than 7000sq km.
She asked how long it would take for legal changes to take effect, while the regions were gripped by a domestic violence crisis.
Mr Minns said the laws would be debated when state parliament returns in June but could not be rushed through.
"The sad reality is that there are more than 30,000 people charged with domestic violence offences each year and the laws are substantial changes," Mr Minns told the crowd of about 300.
He said that while the state waited for the laws to pass, a task force was training police prosecutors about the likely reform.
"The volume of domestic violence offences is so large that we cannot afford a mistake," Mr Minns said.
"I give you my word that while the legislation is progressing through parliament - and I expect it to pass - we will train both our employees as well as the judiciary."
Ms Acheson also asked a question on behalf of Ms Ticehurst's mother - why isn't the legislation formally called Molly's Law?
Mr Minns said it had been some time since the government had named a piece of legislation after an individual.
"It is Molly's law," he said.
"It's been inspired by her death, but the sad reality is we've got many deaths as a result of domestic violence in NSW."
Cabinet ministers also took questions from locals regarding their concerns about mining pollution, housing shortages, access to quality health care, disability support services and the road toll.
At a later press conference, Mr Minns said the government wanted to hear the voices of people outside the cities.
"One-third of the population don't live in metropolitan Sydney and it's our obligation to go to regional communities to understand at the source what the challenges and opportunities are," he said.
Australian Associated Press
