LEGAL AFFAIRS AND COMMUNITY SAFETY COMMITTEE

Dr ROWAN (Moggill—LNP) (3.14 pm): I rise to address the Legal Affairs and Community Safety
Committee report with respect to its oversight of the Queensland Family and Child Commission, report
No. 16 of the 56th Parliament. The purpose and functions of the Queensland Family and Child
Commission are very important. This very important commission was established in 2014, with a
strategic purpose to promote the safety and wellbeing of Queensland children, and also to ensure their
best interests are served. Its other purpose is obviously to ensure child protection processes are
enhanced and further developed in Queensland. It is very important that we protect our most vulnerable.
We know that the Palaszczuk Labor government has a woeful track record when it comes to child
protection. Certainly the former minister for child safety, the member for Waterford, had a significant
number of issues and problems in relation to managing the department. There were delays with data
and report releases during the last term of the 55th Parliament. There were many serious and significant
instances of failures that occurred under her watch.
This is not the first time that Labor has failed with respect to its management of child safety. We
only need to look back to 7 February 2004 when the then premier, Peter Beattie, called a snap election.
At the time, his government was rocked by the report of the then Crime and Misconduct Commission
that found that Labor had failed to adequately protect children in foster care from abuse. Labor always
fails when it comes to transparent and accountable government in Queensland, not only in relation to
child safety but also in terms of what we are seeing in the health system, the rail fail debacle, the
economic problems that have been clearly articulated today and crime spiralling out of control in many
parts of Queensland.
There are some very sobering statistics in the annual report, particularly with respect to sexual
harm to children. That is very confronting and very disturbing for myself as the shadow minister for
communities and state member for Moggill. It is extraordinary that the current Labor minister for child
safety, the member for Bulimba, continues to claim that the child safety system is improving when the
data says the exact opposite. Tomorrow we could see many of our child safety work sites go on strike.
In fact, as the shadow minister, the member for Burnett, has indicated, potentially 25 work sites will go
on strike from tomorrow.
It is simply not acceptable that in Queensland we see such harms continuing to occur to
vulnerable children. There needs to be a cultural change. As the LNP shadow minister for communities,
from reading this report and looking at the work that the committee has done, I would say that we need
our community leaders and political representatives from all levels of government to work together, in
collaboration with a range of organisations, to ensure that our children are protected. That needs to
occur in each and every community across Queensland in a comprehensive and collaborative manner.
I encourage those members of the House who have not read the report to read it, because many things
contained in the report will be applicable to their communities.
Speech By
Dr Christian Rowan
MEMBER FOR MOGGILL
Record of Proceedings, 15 November 2018
Christian_Rowan-Moggill-20181115-531927612685.docx Page 2 of 2
I acknowledge the staff and the work of the Queensland Family and Child Commission. Certainly
they are doing some terrific work in relation to cyber safety. There have been recommendations in
relation to blue cards and what needs to occur in our foster system in Queensland. I think all of the work
that the commission has done to date has been very important. Certainly much more needs to occur
into the future. Protecting our most vulnerable children and those who are in care in eac