Page 1374 - Week 05 - Tuesday, 5 April 2005
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
therein. This is part of keeping the executive accountable. In this appropriation bill, there are considerable sums of money for areas in my area of interest that are of concern.
I think that the experience over the past 12 months in relation to the Office for Children, Youth and Family Support has shown us that much more needed to be done in this community in relation to child protection. In fact, as a result of the Vardon report, a great deal has been done. I feel that I need to make this point, but it is a difficult one to make: over the last year the government has appropriated in excess of $75 million for ongoing expenditure to boost staffing in the Office for Children, Youth and Family Support, particularly in relation to child protection.
I do not think that there is anyone in this community who would quibble at that amount of money, because of the importance of our children, but there is an increasing element of concern—and I would not put it any higher than that—that every time there is an appropriation bill there is yet another return for, in this case, $4½ million for the Office for Children, Youth and Family Support to address juvenile justice issues and another $2.139 million for care and protection staff as well.
One of the things that struck me in the answers to questions during the estimates inquiry was that no-one, the minister or the department, could definitively say whether they had actually got to the bottom of the cost pressures in the Office for Children, Youth and Family Support. There is a perception that the average man on the street would be forgiven for coming to, and that is that perhaps this office is becoming a bit of a bottomless pit. That might sound like I am speaking against motherhood, but I think that, as an executive, the government should be on top of the costings.
I would hope that by the time the budget for next financial year is concluded the minister and her staff in the office have got a better handle on what is actually needed, because this will have been going on for 18 months by then, and on what the actual costs of running the new and revamped Office for Children, Youth and Family Support are. I hope that by the time we get to the estimates on the 2005-2006 budget we have some definitive costs, because at the moment they are growing bit by bit with every appropriation bill.
The community also needs to be concerned to ensure that, with this fairly large injection of funds, child protection, which is such an important issue in the community, will improve, that there will be improved service, that there will be improved protections for the people and the children, in particular, of the ACT. I think that soon the community will start to tire of what I would characterise as the minister’s Pantene defence: it will not happen overnight but it will happen. I am sure that the minister has actually used those very words in this place in defence of the changes in the Office for Children, Youth and Family Support.
As a cautionary note, I am concerned that every time we have an appropriation there is a request for more money on top of the $75 million already appropriated. I would like to see a much more definitive assessment of how much money will be needed to properly run this important service by the time we get to the estimates.
Mr Speaker, there is $3 million to meet increasing demand for traineeships and apprenticeships under VET, a matter which I think is of the utmost importance to the
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .