Page 4161 - Week 10 - Wednesday, 21 September 2011

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of what all of the different policies and procedures are, what all the different parts of the Children and Young People Act are. They need to know these things inside out.

We have seen this recently at Bimberi where workers really did not know policies and procedures. There is no way that I would put this at their doorstep as being their fault. We do need complicated policies and procedures. It is an important area. You need to make sure that you put in place systems and people learn what they are, are practised in what they are and know who they can go to when they may be unsure. All these things are so incredibly important. We do need to see this as a new system where we are going to have these massive waves of workers coming in at certain points. We need to build our system around that.

In closing, I turn to my amendment. As I said, it is relatively minor. It is important that we do acknowledge that this is a very difficult area. While mistakes will always be made, care and protection staff do have the best interests of the children and young people in care very close to their hearts. We should acknowledge the hard work they do and ensure that we convey our appreciation for that hard work.

My amendment also changes some of the language very slightly. I think this better reflects the circumstances. Finally, it clarifies the expectation that we have of the Public Advocate. It ensures that confidential information is protected. That is very important and Mrs Dunne referred to that. We will be supporting the motion, with my amendment. I move:

Omit all words after “That this Assembly”, substitute:

“(1) notes:

(a) the dedication of care and protection staff and the challenges they face in their role;

(b) the concern that Child Care and Protection Group (CCPG) within the Community Services Directorate assigned a residential care placement for children and young people in the care of the Director-General to a non government organisation (NGO) when the NGO was not approved as a ‘suitable entity’ under the Children and Young People Act 2008;

(d) the concern that a residential premises used for residential placements was unsuitable; and

(e) the Director-General of the Community Services Directorate has requested the Public Advocate of the ACT investigate and report on the circumstances of these matters;

(2) calls on the Minister for Community Services to ensure that the Public Advocate is properly resourced to carry out this investigation;

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