The Tasmanian Greens today pursued in the State Parliament concerns of inaccurate affidavits being submitted to courts raised by the Ombudsman in a recent report into a complaint made in early 2010 over the handling of a kinship care case by Child and Family Services.
Greens Children’s spokesperson Paul O’Halloran MP called for a comprehensive audit to be conducted of current Child and family services cases to ensure accuracy of all formal records including information submitted to the courts.
“While highlighting the critical importance of the kinship care system, the Ombudsman’s report presents a scathing assessment of this particular case, stating, “I find it deeply disturbing that the information recorded in Case and Care Plans and in affidavit material presented to the court was factually inaccurate at best, or deliberately untruthful at worst. Not only does this conduct raise serious practice concerns, but some members of staff were deliberately ignoring the fundamental principle of the ‘best interests of the child’.” [1]
“Presenting “factually inaccurate” information to courts is a very serious matter, and risks a perjury charge.”
“This clearly is not in the best interests of the child. No matter the intent or stress felt by staff, cutting corners like this can have huge negative ramifications for all involved.”
“The Greens believe it is the ‘best interests of the child’ for a comprehensive audit to be conducted of other current Child and family services cases to ensure accuracy of all formal records and information submitted during court proceedings.”
“In order to feel confident in moving forward the community deserves to know whether serious failings such as inaccurate affidavits are an unusual aberration in this instance, or whether it is a more systemic problem across the sector potentially impacting on other cases.”
“The Greens are confident that our hard-working and deeply motivated staff across all sectors involved in Child Protection services endeavour to deliver the highest possible professional standards and as such would support immediate rectification of any poor practices or cutting of corners.”
“While we welcome the prompt undertaking by the Department to accept the Ombudsman’s recommendations in full, the Greens will scrutinise their implementation to ensure comprehensive delivery,” Mr O’Halloran said.
Reference: Investigation into a complaint about the conduct of kinship assessments (and related matters) by Child and Family Services, Ombudsman Tasmania, March 2013; pg 24.
Paul O’Halloran MP Greens Children’s spokesperson Tuesday, 21 May 2013
