In Question Time in Parliament today, Labor’s Minister for Child Protection, Luke Donnellan admitted to failing to protect vulnerable Victorian children.
When asked why the Andrews Labor Government wrongly closed 78 per cent of reports in relation to subsequent deaths of 35 children, Minister Donnellan confessed that this should not have happened.
The Commission for Children and Young People’s 2019 report Lost, Not Forgotten found that of the children who were reported to Child Protection, 78 per cent of reports in relation to subsequent deaths were wrongly closed at the intake stage.
The number of reports to Child Protection in the year to June 2020 (122,179 reports) was almost double the number of reports in the year to December 2019 (62,138).
Despite this enormous increase in demand for Child Protection, the Andrews Labor Government has not only failed to provide the resources needed to keep Victorian children safe, but they have removed staff and placed them elsewhere.
When asked directly in Parliament today exactly how many staff the Andrews Labor Government has removed from Child Protection, Minister Donnellan refused to come clean.
Comments attributable to Shadow Minister for Child Protection, Nick Wakeling:
“Labor has abandoned vulnerable Victorian children and as a result of ignoring pleas for help, children have died.
“Vulnerable children need immediate help but instead they are being ignored and abandoned by Labor.
“At a time when reports to Child Protection are doubling, Labor needs to come clean on how many staff they have removed from protecting at-risk children.”
