The Palaszczuk Government has finally bowed to pressure and released statistics that confirm the state’s child safety system is in crisis and Queensland children are being left in dangerous situations for too long.
Shadow Minister for Child Safety Ros Bates said child abuse response times continued to blow out because Annastacia Palaszczuk and her Child Safety Minister refused to act immediately to provide extra resources to frontline child safety officers to protect at-risk children.
“Child Safety Minister Shannon Fentiman has known since last October that child safety offices statewide are buckling under the pressure of increased caseloads,” Ms Bates said.
“Today’s figures reveal that, under Labor, 10 per cent of Queensland children deemed to be in the most danger are not being seen within the recommended 24 hour time period.
“Seventy-one per cent of children that are supposed to be checked on with 5 days are not being seen in that timeframe.
“Queensland’s children in danger don’t need more reviews they need action now before another child is lost because overworked frontline child safety workers can’t get to them.
“Shannon Fentiman can hide behind reviews and statistics, but behind every number there is another potential Mason Lee, who was known to the Minister’s Department and was not saved.”
Ms Bates said despite being advised of the worrying response times as far back as October 2015, Ms Fentiman had still done nothing, admitting specialist investigation teams had not been deployed.
“The last time these specialist teams were dispatched was in the dark days of the Beattie-Bligh Labor Government when the child safety system was in meltdown,” she said.
“Shannon Fentiman needs to explain why nothing has happened since she apparently ordered her Director General to fix this problem last year.
“Unlike Labor, the LNP commissioned the landmark Child Protection Commission of Inquiry (Carmody Review), committed over $400 million to implement its recommendations and employed 77 new frontline child safety workers to protect our children.
“In just 18 months all that hard work has been undone by an asleep at the wheel Minister while children languish on investigation waiting lists.”
