The Rockliff-Ferguson Government's appalling economic management simply is not delivering for Tasmanian children in need.
Yet again data released by the government shows children reported as being at risk are falling through the cracks.
Minister for Children Roger Jaensch's own data shows the number of Tasmanian children in "active transition" - reported as being at risk but not allocated to the care of a child safety officer - has climbed beyond 60.
However, workers and the union for child safety workers say this is just the tip of the iceberg and in reality hundreds of at-risk children are not being investigated adequately.
Clearly Mr Jaensch sees these numbers as just numbers rather than 60 vulnerable children whose situations requires investigation and action.
There are currently 60 job vacancies across child safety and if Mr Jaensch and the government were listening to those who work at the frontline, he would understand they are unacceptably under-resourced and at breaking point.
Now is not the time for the government to go ahead with its plan to abolish the Department of Communities and place its current functions - including those of child safety workers - into the Education Department.
That would make the crucial workers of child safety officers even more difficult and the government needs to look at the experiences of other states like South Australia where a similar move was an unmitigated disaster - resulting in a Royal Commission - and make a commitment to abandon or a least delay this plan until the findings of the Tasmanian Commission of Inquiry are known.
Sarah Lovell
Shadow Child Safety Minister
