Ms MOSS - 2015-04-28
Today’s budget continues the CLP’s appalling neglect of the Territory’s most vulnerable people: children. Since last year’s $8m cut, child protection cases not investigated within the mandated 28 days increased by over 50% to 1347. This budget has further cut resources going into child protection services. When will you take responsibility for your failure to protect Territory kids and invest the much-needed resources to fix the problem?
ANSWER
Mr Deputy Speaker, a predictable question and for that reason I already have Budget Paper 3 open at page 141. Let us put to bed one assertion. The 2014-15 budget for child protection was $160m. The 2015-16 budget for child protection is $172m, an increase of $12m.
Let us deal with the first issue. The members opposite will simply tell bald-faced untruths in pursuit of running a particular agenda then they will say, ‘But it is all about the children and you have to spend more’. Well we are spending more so put that aside.
Here is the second component, which concerns me the most. Since when has it been the government’s responsibility to become parents? We rescue children from parents who neglect, abuse and sexually abuse their children. Some parents rape their children, and we are the ambulance that fixes that. That was the issue the former government had to deal with, as does the present government.
But here is the truth of it. As the minister for child protection I have more kids in care today because parents do not care; they do not get engaged with their children. Your policies of welfare and not ever asking the parent to do anything, of saying these parents are all victims, generated exactly that sort of indifferent thinking on the part of those parents. Then when the government intervenes to try to rescue these children from these dreadful and diabolical circumstances, it is all of a sudden the government’s fault.
The policies we have engaged are sound. Under the former government there was an example where a gentleman looking after a 17-year-old person who was fully compliant, drove himself to school, was paid $300 000 a year to look after that kid. That was what the former government did – just throw money around.
As the minister for child protection I sadly have to say I have more kids in care now than we have ever had in the Northern Territory’s history. The situation is getting worse. It will continue to get worse whilst there is an attitude on the part of members opposite and federal governments who believe a passive welfare system is a way forward for people living in the Northern Territory. That passive welfare system ultimately drives the neglect and indifference we have to spend money on to clean up the mess.
ANSWER
Mr Deputy Speaker, a predictable question and for that reason I already have Budget Paper 3 open at page 141. Let us put to bed one assertion. The 2014-15 budget for child protection was $160m. The 2015-16 budget for child protection is $172m, an increase of $12m.
Let us deal with the first issue. The members opposite will simply tell bald-faced untruths in pursuit of running a particular agenda then they will say, ‘But it is all about the children and you have to spend more’. Well we are spending more so put that aside.
Here is the second component, which concerns me the most. Since when has it been the government’s responsibility to become parents? We rescue children from parents who neglect, abuse and sexually abuse their children. Some parents rape their children, and we are the ambulance that fixes that. That was the issue the former government had to deal with, as does the present government.
But here is the truth of it. As the minister for child protection I have more kids in care today because parents do not care; they do not get engaged with their children. Your policies of welfare and not ever asking the parent to do anything, of saying these parents are all victims, generated exactly that sort of indifferent thinking on the part of those parents. Then when the government intervenes to try to rescue these children from these dreadful and diabolical circumstances, it is all of a sudden the government’s fault.
The policies we have engaged are sound. Under the former government there was an example where a gentleman looking after a 17-year-old person who was fully compliant, drove himself to school, was paid $300 000 a year to look after that kid. That was what the former government did – just throw money around.
As the minister for child protection I sadly have to say I have more kids in care now than we have ever had in the Northern Territory’s history. The situation is getting worse. It will continue to get worse whilst there is an attitude on the part of members opposite and federal governments who believe a passive welfare system is a way forward for people living in the Northern Territory. That passive welfare system ultimately drives the neglect and indifference we have to spend money on to clean up the mess.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016