The Tasmanian Greens today stressed the need for a thorough review of the powers of the Commissioner for Children, focusing chiefly on its investigative powers and length of tenure.
Tasmanian Greens Children’s spokesperson Paul O’Halloran MP today welcomed the appointment of Elizabeth Daly in the role of Interim Commissioner, and said that it would be productive for the new appointee to help advise on role, functions and tenure issues.
“We are firm in our concern over the need for greater investigative powers, including the Commissioner’s capacity to initiate new investigations,” Mr O’Halloran said.
“We believe that the short tenure length of three years should be extended to five years, bringing it into line with similar roles in other Australian jurisdictions.”
“The former Commissioner Aileen Ashford made it clear that there were problems impacting on the effectiveness and capacity of this position that needed to be fixed quickly.”
“The Children’s Commissioner position is a crucial advocate for some of our most vulnerable.”
Paul O’Halloran MP Greens Children’s Spokesperson Tuesday, 4 June 2013
