10. ANNE TOLLEY (National—East Coast) Link to this
to the Associate Minister for Social Development and Employment (CYF)
Does she have confidence in Child, Youth and Family; if so, why?
Hon RUTH DYSON (Associate Minister for Social Development and Employment (CYF)) Link to this
Yes, I do, because, unlike that member, I support the difficult hard work that the department and its social workers do.
How can the people of New Zealand have confidence when her department’s poor performance is the very reason Mataroa Barton, a convicted teenage sex offender who yesterday pleaded guilty to evading his supervisors at a Child, Youth and Family home at least eight times, has been given a second chance in the community only minutes away from one of his victims?
Actually, the District Court, on the recommendation of the Department of Corrections, recommended that that young man be detained in a secure facility, and I am confident that the District Court, understanding all the circumstances—rather than selective provisions, as that member chooses—is confident that the community is safe.
Russell Fairbrother Link to this
What is the very hard-working Child, Youth and Family doing to ensure the permanent placement of children and young people in the department’s care?
I am pleased to inform the House that, despite the best efforts of the member who asked the primary question to undermine the good work undertaken by Child, Youth and Family—
Madam SPEAKER—it does have a robust permanency policy in place, and that is indicated by the fact that there has been a continuing trend downwards in the number of children, particularly those under 3 years of age, who remain in the care of the department.
Chris TremainDoes the Minister think it is fair that a young woman and her daughter should have to consider vacating their home because they are frightened that Mataroa Barton has been placed by Child, Youth and Family back into their community, within walking distance of their home; and does the Minister not think that the rights of victims should come before those of criminals?
I want to make two points in relation to that question. The first is that the District Court made the decision, not Child, Youth and Family. The second point is that if that member of Parliament were serious about the security of his constituent, he may have thought twice about publishing her address on a publicly available website. That member put her address in the public domain. In my view, that is a serious threat and he should have reconsidered that action.
What assurances can the Minister give this Napier mother and daughter, and the wider Napier community, that they are 100 percent safe from Mataroa Barton, and that he will not escape his supervisors, given that he did escape at least eight times when he was under Child, Youth and Family care in the community recently?