Child safety failings in North Queensland
Address by Member for Whitsunday Amanda Camm MP to the Queensland Regional Parliament in Cairns on May 11, 2023.
I am pleased to contribute to the motion moved by the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. I cannot believe what I have heard in this chamber today.
We saw an amendment to the motion moved by a member congratulating himself on being such a great member, supported by two other members—they were all congratulating themselves. Not one minister stood up to move that amendment to the motion. I find it very interesting that they left it to the members, the 'fabulous four'.
Government members: He is a minister.
Ms Camm: That is right; sorry, he is a minister. I have not heard the minister speak very often in the two years since I have been in the House.
I would like to remind the House and the people of North Queensland that we in the LNP do not talk in announcements; we talk in outcomes.
I would like to draw the attention of the House to some facts. The Cairns Child Safety Service Centre has a vacancy rate of 36.75 per cent, nothing to be proud of.
The Cape York North and Torres Strait Island Child Safety Service Centre has a vacancy rate of 35.09 per cent. The North Cairns and Lower Cape Child Safety Service Centre has a 30.16 per cent vacancy rate.
Mrs McMahon interjected.
Ms Camm: The Far North Queensland Investigation and Assessment Team has a 24.5 per cent vacancy rate. On the latest data Far North Queensland has the shortest average tenure—
Mrs McMahon interjected.
Ms Camm: I will repeat that.
On the latest data, Far North Queensland has the shortest average tenure of Child Safety officers of any region in Queensland. What that says is that people do not want to work for the Palaszczuk Labor government.
I have met with people who have left Child Safety in Far North Queensland because they do not want blood on their hands, yet all we hear is silence. People do not want to talk about the uncomfortable truth or the uncomfortable facts, but we on this side of the House are prepared to stand up for those who are most vulnerable.
I am prepared to stand up for Aboriginal children, for our most vulnerable.
When I travel around this state I speak to former Child Safety officers who have left under this Palaszczuk Labor government because they will not forge reports; they will not downgrade things that need to be uncovered. That is what has happened, and we met one just yesterday.
I now turn to domestic violence breaches. In this House we continuously hear about data from 2015.
I can say that since 2015 domestic violence breaches are up 220 per cent. That is an increase from 2,179 to 7,010 in the Far North District. Sexual offences—and these are reportable offences—are up 29 per cent since 2015, from 642 in 2015 to 830 in 2022.
I meet and speak with the sexual assault service because as a North Queensland member and as the shadow minister for the prevention of domestic, family and sexual violence, I am out there speaking to the stakeholders when members opposite are not standing up and advocating for more funding, for more services, for more resources and for a change in the laws. What do we see delivered? Fewer police. When we see an increase in sexual assaults and an increase in domestic violence we see a decrease in police on the beat—frontline staff and officers needed to protect our most vulnerable in Far North Queensland.
When I travelled to Mapoon last year the mayor there told me that she cannot even get a police officer—not one—approved. She cannot even get a police liaison officer. In fact, she would even settle for a police officer to live there so he could just park his car there to provide a police presence. That is the representation that we do not have from the members of Far North Queensland—
Ms Boyd interjected.
Ms CAMM:—and the member for Pine Rivers shouts out. I would love to see what the member for Pine Rivers really knows about our most vulnerable in Far North Queensland and how many meetings have been had with Indigenous leaders and vulnerable stakeholders across our region.
The Hear her voice report detailed some of the damning findings from the consultation of Indigenous women who have been incarcerated under this government of what they have to deal with under this government, and we hear silence from those opposite.