{"id":189587,"date":"2017-09-11T23:30:30","date_gmt":"2017-09-11T13:30:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=189587"},"modified":"2020-08-14T11:18:13","modified_gmt":"2020-08-14T01:18:13","slug":"focus-on-domestic-violence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2017\/09\/11\/focus-on-domestic-violence\/","title":{"rendered":"Focus On Domestic Violence"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Deputy Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington with Shadow Minister For Child Safety Ros Bates in Kingaroy on Monday<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

September 12, 2017<\/strong><\/p>\n

A light was shone on child safety and domestic violence issues in the South Burnett on Monday with a visit to the region by Queensland MP Ros Bates.<\/p>\n

Ms Bates is the Shadow Minister for Communities, Child Safety, Prevention of Domestic Violence, Disability Services and Seniors.<\/p>\n

She began her visit by visiting South Burnett CTC, a local not-for-profit private agency that deals with these issues daily.<\/p>\n

Ms Bates then dropped into Endeavour Kingaroy to speak to staff and clients there.<\/p>\n

She was refused permission to visit staff at the State Government’s South Burnett Child Safety Centre, ostensibly because the Regional Director was working out of Wide Bay.<\/p>\n

Ms Bates said this was a pity as she could have passed on praise from South Burnett CTC workers who had told her they had a good relationship with the local Child Safety office, and 100 per cent of 24-hour investigations were seen on time.<\/strong><\/p>\n

As of March, in the Central Queensland region – which includes the South Burnett – 787 substantiated child safety cases had been reported.<\/p>\n

In the same region, there are 653 carers on the books.<\/p>\n

Ms Bates said the Labor Government had released three reviews recently into child safety, foster care and the Blue Card system.<\/p>\n

She said one of these reviews was six months late, and two were three months late.<\/p>\n

“Following the tragic deaths of Mason Jett Lee, Tialeigh Palmer, Maddilyn-Rose Stokes and other Queensland children in care, Queenslanders deserve to know that’s going wrong in our child safety system,” Ms Bates said.<\/p>\n

“Instead, Labor sits on these reports for months and then releases three in one day to avoid proper scrutiny of the life and death issues they have investigated.”<\/p>\n

And, Ms Bates pointed out, these three reports recommended another 21 reviews take place.<\/p>\n

Domestic violence is another issue close to Ms Bates’ heart; in a 2015 speech to Parliament she revealed the domestic violence which engulfed her life as a child (see link, below).<\/strong><\/p>\n

She said yesterday that there had been 610 breaches of domestic violence orders recorded in the South Burnett over the past eight months.<\/p>\n

“Domestic violence orders are not worth the paper they are written on unless they are enforced,” Ms Bates said.<\/p>\n

She said 86 of these breaches had been by perpetrators who have breached orders five or more times.<\/p>\n

Ms Bates later joined Member for Nanango Deb Frecklington at an informal lunch with service providers at the Commercial Hotel in Kingaroy where workers could share first-hand information about issues happening in the local community.<\/p>\n