Thursday, 31 October 2024

Child protection

Georgie CROZIER (Southern Metropolitan) (12:07): (718) My question is to the Minister for Children. Minister, in question time yesterday you said in relation to your investment in disrupting sexual exploitation:

We know that it is working …

You went on to say a few other things. Minister, my question to you is: how do you know? What basis and what metric are you relying on to make this assertion?

Lizzie BLANDTHORN (Western Metropolitan – Minister for Children, Minister for Disability) (12:07): I thank Ms Crozier for her question. As I said yesterday, protecting vulnerable children in our child protection system is absolutely our top priority. We know that children who are in care are vulnerable children, often from very traumatised circumstances, which of course often makes them much more vulnerable to those who seek to prey on them.

As I said, we have invested in sexual exploitation practice leads. We are working across the agencies, across the department and across the police to disrupt those who prey on vulnerable children, those who engage in this abhorrent activity. The investment that we made in the 2023–24 state budget builds on previous actions, and it provides, as I said, the money for those sexual exploitation practice leads. It also ensures that we have extra services in rural locations. It ensures that we have extra services in our after-hours. That additional capacity and capability to better enable detection and the sharing of intelligence regarding sexual exploitation amongst agencies, amongst the department and amongst the police really is leading to a disruption of this type of activity. Of course, as I have indicated before, those children who are preyed on are more than just a statistic. Each and every child is an individual, and their best interest is at the heart of the government, ensuring that we have in place those services and those programs that lead to the disruption of this type of activity.

From the discussions that I have had with the police minister and with the police and that the department has had with the police, our indications are that this work is leading to a disruption of sexual exploitation of children in care. I know that the secretary of the department recently had a meeting with the police commissioner and they had a discussion to this end as well.

The disruption of sexual exploitation, of preying on these vulnerable, traumatised children in care, is an absolute priority of this government. It is why we are investing in it, and it is why we are working to ensure that children in care are protected from sexual exploitation.

Georgie CROZIER (Southern Metropolitan) (12:10): It is a very serious issue, and you did say you are working with various lead agencies and the like around this issue. You could not rule out yesterday – you could not guarantee – that there was not sexual exploitation happening within the child protection sector. You have just said that there is disruption of this activity. Can you provide to the house information to back that up? You are claiming that your investment is working, but we are just hearing words. We are not seeing that it is actually working as you could not guarantee that this exploitation was not taking place and you alluded to the fact that there was serious concern around this sexual exploitation going on within the child protection system.

Lizzie BLANDTHORN (Western Metropolitan – Minister for Children, Minister for Disability) (12:11): I thank Ms Crozier for her question. Sadly, tragically, I cannot guarantee that there are not paedophiles out there in the community who will continue to prey on vulnerable, traumatised children, be they in care or otherwise. I wish all of us could guarantee that, but I do not think anyone in this place, whatever their role, will ever, sadly, be in a position to do that. What I can tell you is our government is working across agencies and within the child protection system to ensure that children in care are protected as far as is possible from this type of predatory, disgusting behaviour of paedophiles in our community. What I do want to call out again, though, is the insinuation. When you say ‘in care’, Ms Crozier, so many of the children we are talking about are in care, but those who are preying on them are paedophiles out there in the community. The reflection on our workforce in the way in which you asked your question is disgusting.