Mr KNIGHT - 2007-08-21
How will the measures announced in …
Mrs Miller: The questions are doing their rounds today.
Mr KNIGHT: Yes, there is another question. It is very important, member for Katherine. How will the measures announced in Closing the Gap make children safer in the Northern Territory?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Daly for his important question. I start with the premise that everyone in this parliament rejects the scourge of child abuse wherever it occurs in the country, and no one owns a moral position that has greater prominence than any other. We all want to prevent child abuse. Particularly for our side of government, the care and protection of children is our highest priority. Our Labor government has increased the child protection budget every year, and this year the budget is $35.7m, unlike the CLP, whose budget was $7.8m.
Members interjecting.
Ms SCRYMGOUR: This additional funding has made a real difference in how we protect children. For example - and I know they do not like having this put - we have an additional 71 staff in the child protection program; we have a dedicated after hours service, something the CLP never understood the need for; we have a centralised intake base at Berrimah police station where skilled professionals assess every call from the public and work with the police to keep children safe; and we have intensive family support services for families in crisis and the specialist care program for children most at risk. These are all excellent initiatives, and I pay tribute to the former minister who had child protection for getting intensive family support services that do fantastic work out there.
In Closing the Gap we acknowledge that there is much more to do. This government continues to make children’s safety a priority. The Closing the Gap package includes an additional $80m; that is on top of the $35m in case they need a hand helping. The Child Protection budget is well in excess of $116m. With the additional $80m for services to protect our children, that package will deliver long term improvements. Key initiatives include 10 additional child protection and family support workers; a new residential care unit and therapy service; a network of child protection and care services badly needed on the ground in those communities; we will extend the Sexual Assault Referral Service, including a new service in Katherine, which I am sure the member for Katherine will like; we will expand the Child Abuse Task Force - 23 additional FACS staff to work with police to identify and investigate child abuse.
Mrs BRAHAM: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Answers should not be about dollars and cents; they should be about outcomes. That seems to be what everyone is missing. Not dollars and cents; outcomes.
Madam SPEAKER: Resume your seat, member for Braitling. As you are aware, there is no point of order. The minister is answering the question. Minister, please continue.
Ms SCRYMGOUR: Madam Speaker, our priority is that children are to be safe. Under Closing the Gap measures, we anticipate that we will find more child abuse cases and take more children into care. Our numbers will go up before they go down. That is because we are taking action to keep children safe. We are not prepared to turn a blind eye as has been done in the past for many years.
It is about keeping children safe, and it is not just about police and child protection workers. Closing the Gap addresses substance abuse, which is long overdue – we all know the impact of substance abuse on the ground in our communities; health services; housing, which is a major issue; and education. These are all the things that need to be in place for children to be safe and to have the best opportunities for the future.
Mrs Miller: The questions are doing their rounds today.
Mr KNIGHT: Yes, there is another question. It is very important, member for Katherine. How will the measures announced in Closing the Gap make children safer in the Northern Territory?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Daly for his important question. I start with the premise that everyone in this parliament rejects the scourge of child abuse wherever it occurs in the country, and no one owns a moral position that has greater prominence than any other. We all want to prevent child abuse. Particularly for our side of government, the care and protection of children is our highest priority. Our Labor government has increased the child protection budget every year, and this year the budget is $35.7m, unlike the CLP, whose budget was $7.8m.
Members interjecting.
Ms SCRYMGOUR: This additional funding has made a real difference in how we protect children. For example - and I know they do not like having this put - we have an additional 71 staff in the child protection program; we have a dedicated after hours service, something the CLP never understood the need for; we have a centralised intake base at Berrimah police station where skilled professionals assess every call from the public and work with the police to keep children safe; and we have intensive family support services for families in crisis and the specialist care program for children most at risk. These are all excellent initiatives, and I pay tribute to the former minister who had child protection for getting intensive family support services that do fantastic work out there.
In Closing the Gap we acknowledge that there is much more to do. This government continues to make children’s safety a priority. The Closing the Gap package includes an additional $80m; that is on top of the $35m in case they need a hand helping. The Child Protection budget is well in excess of $116m. With the additional $80m for services to protect our children, that package will deliver long term improvements. Key initiatives include 10 additional child protection and family support workers; a new residential care unit and therapy service; a network of child protection and care services badly needed on the ground in those communities; we will extend the Sexual Assault Referral Service, including a new service in Katherine, which I am sure the member for Katherine will like; we will expand the Child Abuse Task Force - 23 additional FACS staff to work with police to identify and investigate child abuse.
Mrs BRAHAM: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Answers should not be about dollars and cents; they should be about outcomes. That seems to be what everyone is missing. Not dollars and cents; outcomes.
Madam SPEAKER: Resume your seat, member for Braitling. As you are aware, there is no point of order. The minister is answering the question. Minister, please continue.
Ms SCRYMGOUR: Madam Speaker, our priority is that children are to be safe. Under Closing the Gap measures, we anticipate that we will find more child abuse cases and take more children into care. Our numbers will go up before they go down. That is because we are taking action to keep children safe. We are not prepared to turn a blind eye as has been done in the past for many years.
It is about keeping children safe, and it is not just about police and child protection workers. Closing the Gap addresses substance abuse, which is long overdue – we all know the impact of substance abuse on the ground in our communities; health services; housing, which is a major issue; and education. These are all the things that need to be in place for children to be safe and to have the best opportunities for the future.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016