Page 1369 - Week 05 - Tuesday, 10 May 1994
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Madam Speaker, the Minister's presentation speech makes mention that with the passage of these Bills "we are building a robust child protection system in advance of mandatory reporting". I note that we have yet to debate the Community Law Reform Committee's report No. 7 on the mandatory reporting of child abuse. However, I am aware that it is the Government's intention to introduce mandatory reporting at some point in the future, with appropriate resourcing. I, too, would support that move and would welcome the announcement of a commencement date, which would act as a target date towards which the community could work.
In the meantime, these amendments to the Children's Services Act and the Community Advocate Act, I believe, are welcome. The changes are extensive and will require a substantial period of transition before they come into being. While the commencements of the amended Acts have been dovetailed to occur at the same time, it would be worth the Government taking some time to carefully consider an appropriate commencement timeframe which will meet the needs of both offices. Should these Bills pass today, commencement would fall due in mid-November - unfortunately, a traditionally busy time regarding matters of child protection. I believe that it is an issue, Madam Speaker, that perhaps the Government could give further consideration to once the legislation is passed and once the changed arrangements are brought into being.
MR CONNOLLY (Attorney-General and Minister for Health) (4.37), in reply: Madam Speaker, I rise to close this debate. Since the Bill was introduced there has been a change in ministerial arrangements, but I will sum up for the Government on both Bills, with the support of my colleague Mr Lamont. I thank members for their support for the legislation. This legislation came about principally because in 1991 we were prepared to take the fairly bold step of creating a statutory office of Community Advocate as an independent monitoring authority for a whole range of community service activities. That office has evolved in the time since it was created and since Heather McGregor was appointed to the position, and it was appropriate that the Director of Children's Services and the Community Advocate sit down and work out what their respective roles were, so as to more smoothly deliver services in this area.
With an independent monitoring agency with the power the Community Advocate has, there was potential for bureaucratic tension between the monitoring agency and the service delivery agency. A lot of effort and energy could easily have been dissipated in those sorts of feuds. It is to the credit of both senior officers and their staff that, instead of going down that path, the department and the independent statutory authority sat down and worked out their respective roles and responsibilities and recommended to government a series of changes to legislation to ensure that those respective roles and responsibilities would be clear and that there would be no duplication.
Mr Humphries raised some issues about the annual review and whether we should continue to do that. This is one of the most difficult areas of public policy. The decision of the state to intervene to remove a child from its parents is a very difficult one.
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