Tuesday, 29 October 2024

Questions without notice and ministers statements

Child protection

Georgie CROZIER (Southern Metropolitan) (12:08): (701) My question is to the Minister for Children. Minister, data published by your department has confirmed 66 children known to child protection or in state care have tragically died since 1 January 2020. These tragic deaths keep increasing under your watch. Minister, why is the government continuing to fail vulnerable children?

Lizzie BLANDTHORN (Western Metropolitan – Minister for Children, Minister for Disability) (12:08): I thank Ms Crozier for her question. At the outset can I say that the death of any child anywhere is a tragedy and certainly acknowledge in relation to the children referred to by Ms Crozier that their deaths are tragic. It is important to note when considering deaths of children in out-of-home care that those deaths relate to children who die mostly of accidental causes or illness, including things like SIDS, premature birth and other circumstances unrelated to their care. But of course the death of any child is an absolute tragedy.

To take the second part of Ms Crozier’s question, where she referred to what this government is doing to protect vulnerable children, I am more than happy, as I do week in, week out in this place, to speak to exactly what this government is doing to protect –

Members interjecting.

Lizzie BLANDTHORN: Ms Crozier’s question did ask what the government was doing to protect vulnerable children, and in the last five years this government has invested more than $4 billion in protecting vulnerable children. We have ensured that children who are in residential care will be in a therapeutic place. This means that all children by July next year who are in residential care – noting of course that the same data which you are referring to, the AIHW data, also notes that Victoria has the lowest rate of children in residential care – will be in a therapeutic place in residential care, and a therapeutic place means that all children in residential care will get the supports and the services that they need.

The AIHW’s data also says not only do we have the lowest rate of children in out-of-home care but we have the highest rate of children in out-of-home care in kinship care, and that means that as far as is possible we are keeping children with family and kin, because we know that children do best when they are with their family and their kin. This government is investing record amounts in protecting vulnerable children, as opposed to when those opposite were in power and the Auditor-General found that they had the system operating over capacity and unable to meet the needs of vulnerable children.

David Davis: On a point of order, President, question time is not an opportunity to attack the opposition. This was a direct attack, and it is simply not the right response to the question that was asked.

The PRESIDENT: I do not know if you would term that an attack. I think that it was a comparison actually reading from a report.

Georgie Crozier: On a point of order, President, on your ruling, my question was around why the government is continuing to fail vulnerable children. I am talking about the here and now, not 12 years ago or 10 years ago. And the minister is debating the point. I would ask you to draw her back to my question – not what she wants to answer but what I want answered about why the government is continuing to fail vulnerable children. Sixty-six children have died.

The PRESIDENT: I understand your point of order, and I think you might be debating a bit of it.

Harriet Shing: Further to the point of order, President, Ms Crozier has constantly interjected, including by referencing ministers in former governments. On that basis the minister is well within her rights to respond to those interjections in the course of her answer.

Georgie Crozier interjected.

The PRESIDENT: I could not make out what Ms Crozier was interjecting until I heard that one.

Georgie Crozier interjected.

The PRESIDENT: I believe the minister addressed the question at the start of her response.

Lizzie BLANDTHORN: As I said, the death of any child is an absolute tragedy. But Ms Crozier asked what this government was doing to protect vulnerable children, and I was explaining to Ms Crozier, as I do week in, week out, exactly what we are doing to protect vulnerable children. Since we have come to government we have invested more than $4 billion in ensuring that we have set up systems and processes to protect vulnerable children. That includes making sure that every residential care place is a therapeutic place, where children in residential care have therapeutic supports wrapped around them. It also includes our $140 million investment in ensuring that we have investments in an Aboriginal-led service system where we are ensuring that our kinship care model is invested in, because we know that children do better when they are with kin.

Georgie CROZIER (Southern Metropolitan) (12:13): Minister, according to the data, alleged incidents of abuse have also trended upwards, with over 5400 incidents since 2020. This is under your watch over recent years. Minister, why have these incidents of alleged abuse increased under your watch?

Lizzie BLANDTHORN (Western Metropolitan – Minister for Children, Minister for Disability) (12:14): Again I thank Ms Crozier for her question. Whether it is a supplementary question is somewhat debatable, but I am more than happy of course to go to these issues, because this government is doing more than those opposite and more than any other government previously in investing in the support of vulnerable children. Every incident of abuse is taken extremely seriously when it is reported to the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing. Incidents are taken seriously and they are investigated, and on each and every occasion actions are taken to investigate incidents of abuse. ‘Abuse’ is a term used within the child protection system for abuse between clients and also abuse outside of the system, such as sexual exploitation, for example. It is a broad term, and I think it is a bit disingenuous in a supplementary question to ask the question in the way that you have, Ms Crozier, when I only have 1 minute to respond to your question.