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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 05 Hansard (Friday, 14 May 2004) . . Page.. 2045 ..

effectiveness of the information collected with the aim of improving its service delivery and financial planning ability in this area.

It is interesting that the appropriation bill itself, on page 206, says:

Supporting Children at Risk (GPO: $7.382m, Capital Funding: $0.465m) to allow for an immediate response to a dramatically increased demand for intervention and support services in child protection. The additional funding will be used to address increased substitute care demand and employ additional staff to enable appropriate levels of intervention and support services to be maintained.

In the government response to recommendation 4 it says that they agree with and accept the recommendation to review how the department collects statistics in relation to substitute care, but it is interesting that the final sentence of the response reads:

It should be noted that the number of substitute care days used per quarter cannot be predicted as their use is not subject to the control of the department.

Minister, you actually told me that trends clearly show that the number of substitute care days continue to rise exponentially.

Ms Gallagher: But it’s driven by the court!

MRS BURKE: So you are saying one thing in this document, and you are saying another thing in here. As I have said, it was explained to me by Ms Gallagher that that rise is due to the change in the way suspected cases of child abuse are reported.

Ms Gallagher: We can’t read a crystal ball and anticipate what the court’s going to direct.

MRS BURKE: So you are saying on the one hand that you cannot predict it and on the other hand that you can. Interesting, isn’t it?

Let’s have a look at recommendation 5, which is:

… that the Government improve the procurement processes of ACT Housing and be better able to explain how monies appropriated will be expended.

The government response to that reads:

Details of how the $33.2m in appropriated funds will be expended, will be made public after consultations with the social housing sector have been finalised.

When might that be, and when will the money be spent? I have to say, it is all a little suspect. Are we just moving money from one hollow log to another?

Ms Gallagher: No.

MRS BURKE: Oh, aren’t we? You’re quick to defend there.

Ms Gallagher: They’re cash managed.

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