Today the Minster for Child Protection announced new funding in the upcoming State Budget for Child Protection.
The Member for Mining and Pastoral Region, the Hon Neil Thomson MLC, labelled the announcement a cynical distraction from the youth crisis facing regional areas, particularly across the north of the state.
“We are facing a crisis in the regions and this Minister wants to drip feed announcements with no detail about implementation,” said Mr Thomson.
“This funding appears to span the forward estimates, which would slash the headline figure to just $30million per year.
In the press conference the Minister for Child Protection said there would be 36 new Child Protection workers.
“Nearly 40 percent of those staff have already been allocated in Midland.
“All I can say is I hope they have their map out when they allocate the remaining 24 staff and resources under this new funding.
“Perth is a long way from Kununurra and all the other locations struggling with the consequences of child neglect.
“I have received reports from highly reliable sources that essential services cannot contact the Child Protection staff at the Department of Communities after hours in regional locations.
“That situation is intolerable and must be addressed. We must have in-situ workers – not a FIFO response from Perth.
“The Minister said that the information will be available in a few weeks. That is a long time when you are at your wits end trying to deal with the outcomes of a lost generation of children,” said Mr Thomson.