Critical information about the level of care being provided to Tasmanian children in need of protection is once again being kept under wraps by the Gutwein Government and Minister Roger Jaensch.
Shadow Child Safety Minister Josh Willie said the government had yet again broken its commitment to update the Human Services Dashboard, which contains critical information about the numbers of children in out-of-home care and the number of children in need of allocated case workers.
"This update is now almost two weeks past the deadline the government set itself when it said it would be released each quarter," Mr Willie said.
"The information on the Dashboard today remains from the June 2020 quarter, which was published last September.
"That's not good enough.
"Minister Jaensch has already proven time and time again that he either does not understand the needs of children in the state's care or that he just does not know what is happening in this crucial area of the government's responsibility.
"Tasmanians need to know that the government is seriously undertaking its obligation to provide care.
"The last available information from last June shows 1,330 Tasmanian children were in out-of-home care and 34 children had not been allocated case workers within recommended time frames.
"The government needs to release updated data to show if the situation for these children has improved or become worse under this Minister.
"Minister Jaensch needs to update this information today and if not, he needs to explain why not."
Josh Willie MLC
Shadow Minister for Child Safety
