Media release – Rosalie Woodruff MP, Greens Leader, 23 January 2024
Liberals Must Stop Child Safety Secrecy
The newly published Report on Government Services information shows a new low in the Liberals’ addiction to secrecy, with them withholding critical child safety information from the federal reporting system.
For years the Liberals have been responsible for a child safety system that has by far the worst record in the nation for investigating allegations of abuse and neglect. Facing community outrage in the wake of the Commission of Inquiry, they’ve clearly decided they’re better off hiding the truth from Tasmanians instead of revealing the harms occurring.
Every other state and territory has continued to report statistics on the time it takes from an initial notification of child abuse and neglect for an investigation to start and complete.
Tasmania has become the first jurisdiction to withhold this information.
This is a shameful and cynical ploy to hide the length of time the government is taking with actions to prevent child abuse and neglect.
This terrible decision follows the government’s previous attempt to distort the figures they reported nationally, in an effort to improve public perception of their child safety management. Even this attempt failed to move Tasmania from being the worst performer in the nation on this important measure.
No matter how the Liberals try and spin it, the facts on the ground remain the same. Children in harm’s way are waiting weeks longer than anywhere else in the country to have an investigation and actions taken to keep them safe, and this situation is increasing the length of time they remain exposed to harm.
If the Rockliff Government wants their much-lauded commitment to child safety to have any credibility, at a minimum they need to be honest with Tasmanians about exactly how they are performing on the only measure that really matters – removing the harms children are experiencing.
Media release – Rebecca White MP, Labor Leader, 23 January 2024
Child safety figures more evidence of public services in decay
Alarming new child safety figures have provided more evidence of public services in decay after 10 years of a Liberal government.
The Productivity Commission’s Report on Government Services shows 28.3 per cent of child protection cases took more than 90 days to complete from commencement date. This is higher than every other state except WA and NT.
The figures show only 44.8 per cent of children who are required to have a current documented case plan have one. The national average is 89.3 per cent, and before the Liberals came to power in 2013-14 it was 71.2 per cent.
The Liberal Government has left child safety under resourced for too long, and as a result children are suffering.
Child safety officers are doing the best they can, but this tired old government is letting those officers down.
Unfortunately, it’s just more of the same after 10 years of the Liberals. Public services are in disarray, with the health system and the housing waitlist as long as it’s ever been.
Tasmanians deserve better and only a Labor Government will provide it.
