Mr chairman: Good morning. I welcome Mr Vatskalis, and invite you to introduce the officers accompanying you, and if you wish to make an opening statement on behalf of the Department of Health and Families. Minister vatskalis’ portfolios
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- Bu səhifədəki naviqasiya:
- Mr TOLLNER
- Ms CARNEY
- Mr VATSKALIS
- Ms Scrymgour
- Ms GARDINER-BARNES
ESTIMATES COMMITTEE PROCEEDINGS – 17 JUNE 2010 We will have child protection workers, properly resourced, doing that work in our communities. They will work together with police, and we will make sure that we are giving the best protection we can to our children, wherever they are: Darwin, Alice Springs or a remote community. When will that start? Mr VATSKALIS: That has already been done. That has already commenced. We now safe houses in communities, something that your party, when it was in government, ignored or did not want to do, for the simple reason you did not care if it was out of Darwin or the northern suburbs. We started and put a lot of money; we increased the budget from a pittance of $7m for child protection to significantly more - five or six times more - in order to address these issues. We will continue to do so. It will be step by step; it cannot be done today because it is physically impossible to get the people. We have to train people; we have to look at new models, and we are going to actually consider different ways of doing business. Ms CARNEY: The fact is notifications are increasing significantly. There are two Coronial inquests which will forever be a damning indictment on your government’s lack of commitment to this area. The Ombudsman, earlier this year, remarked that notwithstanding the money your government has put into this area - courtesy of the GST revenue, of course - the results are not there. The system is in crisis, hence, there is a child protection inquiry which, I might say, your government was dragged kicking and screaming to. So, please do not lecture me on the past; we are talking about the present and the Labor administration’s incompetence in this area for years. We those comments, I will defer to the member for Macdonnell, and I will come back and ask some more ... Mr VATSKALIS: Just before, member for Araluen, I would like to make a response to that. The system is in crisis not because of the election of the Labor government in 2001. The system is in crisis because of the incompetence and the unwillingness of the CLP government to address the issue when it was raised … Mr TOLLNER: Oh, you have had your chance, Kon, haven’t you? Mr VATSKALIS: … when it was raised - 27 years history cannot be wiped out … Ms CARNEY: The system was not in crisis needing international and national attention. Mr VATSKALIS: … with a statement by you today. Ms CARNEY: That is just outrageous. Anyway, member for Macdonnell. Mr CHAIRMAN: I point out she goes in order. It should have been the member for Nelson first. Member for Nelson, do you have any questions at this point? No. Ms ANDERSON: Minister, on this media release there was $14.6m allocated to new positions in child protection. Can you give us a breakdown of where the new positions will be - Darwin, Nhulunbuy, Katherine, Tennant Creek, and Alice Springs? Are they new positions, or are you just turning existing positions that are already in the department? Mr VATSKALIS: I will ask Clare to respond to you. Ms GARDINER-BARNES: I have a detailed table here that outlines that there will be, of the 76 additional positions, five allocated to Darwin, two to Katherine, 21 to Alice Springs, another one to Darwin, three to Casuarina, three to Palmerston, three to central intake in Darwin, one in Alice ESTIMATES COMMITTEE PROCEEDINGS – 17 JUNE 2010 Springs, the three remote workers in Darwin who work out of Darwin, four in Katherine, three in Tennant Creek, three in … Ms CARNEY: Could you please table the document? Mr VATSKALIS: No, no, I like listening to it. Ms CARNEY: Could you table the document? Ms GARDINER-BARNES: … three in Gove … Mr CHAIRMAN: It is at the minister’s call how they answer. Mr VATSKALIS: Other people would like to listen to how many people go to Alice Springs. Ms CARNEY: Yes, notwithstanding that, could you table it anyway? Mr VATSKALIS: After we have read it out. Ms ANDERSON: After you can table it if you could, please. Mr Tollner: It is wasting … Mr VATSKALIS: No, I object to that. Twenty-one people in Alice Springs I believe is very significant. The member for Macdonnell asked how many people we have in remote. It is only fair that people in remote communities know that our government is committed to put people out of Darwin, not only in Darwin. Ms Scrymgour: Well, they cannot keep it at the Berrimah Line. Mr VATSKALIS: That is right. Ms GARDINER-BARNES: Three more in Gove, 10 further in Alice Springs, and 14 in remote communities. Mr VATSKALIS: And we are very happy to table that. Ms ANDERSON: Thank you, Clare, and thank you, minister. Just to go back, the member for Araluen asked you a question previously about safe houses. You said there are safe houses in communities now. Can you give me community names as to where you have the safe houses for protecting children? Ms GARDINER-BARNES: Yes, so … Ms ANDERSON: And, if it is a long list, Clare, can you table that list as well, please? Ms GARDINER-BARNES: Yes, so … Ms ANDERSON: After you read of it, of course. Ms GARDINER-BARNES: The details around the safe houses and safe places are related to Output 1.5, so would you like me to … Yüklə 5,01 Kb. Dostları ilə paylaş:
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