Ms ANDERSON - 2013-10-15
Can you inform the House about initiatives to ensure the monitoring and oversight of children in care is independently and competently carried out?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Namatjira for her question. I take this portfolio responsibility with a gravity I hope the opposition would understand and appreciate in how they conduct themselves in this House.
I thank the former minister for her efforts in this area because she leaves me with a strong legacy to build upon. One of those items I seek to build upon is the removal of the Children’s Commissioner from a committee status under the current legislation. I am proud and happy to announce today we will establish the Office of the Children’s Commissioner under its own and separate legislation. I am proud to bring that legislation to this House.
I will add a little more. One of the great tragedies of the relentless attacks by this opposition on the good and hard-working folk in the child protection field is they are, unfortunately, a little shell-shocked. I will unequivocally say to the people working in this field so they understand it: I will back the staff in child protection, despite the outrageous criticisms they receive from members opposite. Moreover, if they act in good faith, I will support them. Even if they take risks acting in good faith, I will support them. If they make honest and genuine mistakes, I will support them.
I will support the staff despite the horrendous attacks we will continue to see from the members opposite. The message to the staff is: unless you are grossly negligent and criminal in your conduct, you will have the support of this government, because this government believes the staff in those areas will have to continue to work under very difficult circumstances.
That includes the fact those staff are lied to by the people they have to work with. Often, where they have to intervene, the parents lie to staff. So those staff make genuine mistakes because they are lied to and have to operate in fields which are difficult. I will back them. I will back them every time. I will certainly back them over the Leader of the Opposition and the shadow minister who would attack them for political gain and no other purpose.
The members opposite have proven themselves to be utterly disgraceful in this case, and I will protect my staff against them.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Namatjira for her question. I take this portfolio responsibility with a gravity I hope the opposition would understand and appreciate in how they conduct themselves in this House.
I thank the former minister for her efforts in this area because she leaves me with a strong legacy to build upon. One of those items I seek to build upon is the removal of the Children’s Commissioner from a committee status under the current legislation. I am proud and happy to announce today we will establish the Office of the Children’s Commissioner under its own and separate legislation. I am proud to bring that legislation to this House.
I will add a little more. One of the great tragedies of the relentless attacks by this opposition on the good and hard-working folk in the child protection field is they are, unfortunately, a little shell-shocked. I will unequivocally say to the people working in this field so they understand it: I will back the staff in child protection, despite the outrageous criticisms they receive from members opposite. Moreover, if they act in good faith, I will support them. Even if they take risks acting in good faith, I will support them. If they make honest and genuine mistakes, I will support them.
I will support the staff despite the horrendous attacks we will continue to see from the members opposite. The message to the staff is: unless you are grossly negligent and criminal in your conduct, you will have the support of this government, because this government believes the staff in those areas will have to continue to work under very difficult circumstances.
That includes the fact those staff are lied to by the people they have to work with. Often, where they have to intervene, the parents lie to staff. So those staff make genuine mistakes because they are lied to and have to operate in fields which are difficult. I will back them. I will back them every time. I will certainly back them over the Leader of the Opposition and the shadow minister who would attack them for political gain and no other purpose.
The members opposite have proven themselves to be utterly disgraceful in this case, and I will protect my staff against them.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016