Hannah Clarke's closest male friend warned her repeatedly about her controlling husband before he burnt her and her children to death. But this was her reason for staying with him

The closest male friend of mother Hannah Clarke has spoken about the simple but heartbreaking reason she stayed with her controlling husband.

Dave Kramer was friends with the Brisbane mother-of-three, who was set alight with her children, Aaliyah, six, Laianah, four, and Trey, three, in a horrific act of violence by her ex-partner Rowan Baxter in February 2020.

'I've got to keep my family together,' Mr Kramer said Ms Clarke told friends when they tried to warn her about the behaviour.  

'We knew what he was doing and we thought, "that was just him",' Mr Kramer told The Courier-Mail.

'But it's not normal. We should be able to have a conversation with that person.'

Hannah Clarke and her children, Aaliyah, 6, Laianah, 4 and Trey, 3, were killed in an horrific act of violence by her ex-partner in February 2020

Ms Clarke with Dave Kramer . Mr Kramer said she stayed with her controlling husband to 'keep my family together'

Mr Kramer will speak to school students about the dangers of coercive control at workshops in Brisbane on September 13 and 14

Mr Kramer, who knew Ms Clarke through the crossfit gym she ran with her husband, is now part of a group which includes her parents Sue and Lloyd, police and survivors of domestic violence who will speak to school students about coercive control. 

'I'm honoured to be presenting at this event with such an esteemed group of people and leaders in the domestic violence prevention space,' he said on his Facebook page in publicising the workshop sessions on September 13 and 14 with DV Connect, Small Steps 4 Hannah and other organisations. 

Coercive control includes behaviours such as isolating partners from friends, dictating where they're allowed to go and controlling their finances. 

An inquiry into the possibility of criminalising coercive control in Queensland is being conducted by former Court of Appeal president Margaret McMurdo.

The Women's Safety and Justice Taskforce has received more than 80 submissions to its inquiry, including from Ms Clarke's parents Sue and Lloyd.  

Ms Clarke with her daughters Laianah and Aaliyah. 'We knew that something was wrong with the behaviour, and we certainly knew that Hannah deserved so much better from her husband,' her parents Sue and Lloyd wrote in a submission

Hannah Clarke's parents Sue and Lloyd made a submission to the Women's Safety and Justice Taskforce looking into the possibility of criminalising coercive control in Queensland 

'We have to admit that we did not understand coercive control, even as our family was dealing with it on a daily basis,' they wrote in a submission.

'We knew that something was wrong with the behaviour, and we certainly knew that Hannah deserved so much better from her husband.

'We didn't understand that this bad behaviour had a name, could be codified and should be illegal. And, of course, we didn't know where it was leading.

'Even Hannah was not fully aware of the term coercive control, even though she was fully aware of its consequences.

'She feared for her safety, and her fears were proved correct. But she didn't believe she was a victim of violence because 'he never hits me'.'

The taskforce is due to report to the Queensland government in October.