Wednesday, 8 March 2023

 Matthew BACH (North-Eastern Metropolitan) (12:32): (71) My question is also to the minister for child protection. Minister, you will not say if you have read the KPMG report, which recommends a huge increase to the carer allowance. Yesterday you refused to say if you had read the Cube report laying out the massive financial benefit of caring. Surely you can confirm today that you have read the government’s own carers strategy, which promises significant reform of the allowance. Why has this promise not been kept?

 Lizzie BLANDTHORN (Western Metropolitan – Minister for Disability, Ageing and Carers, Minister for Child Protection and Family Services) (12:32): First of all, I am pleased that I was your favourite of the child protection ministers. I was perhaps a little concerned you thought I was evasive, so I went back and checked my answer that I had signed, and it says I have read that report; certainly the version I signed says I have read the report. It says I have read the report, and I can confirm for you that I have read the report.

I can also confirm for you, as I have previously, that the work that our carers do across organisations – the work that carers do for the most vulnerable children in our community – is of course valued. Of course across all of our strategies and across all of the work that government does it is constantly in mind the value that carers have in our child protection responsibilities. As I have said to you before in this chamber many a time already in the short space – in the 10 weeks or so – that I have had the privilege of facing you here as the child protection minister, the work of carers in our child protection system is valued. And we value it through allowances. We value it through allowances that can be upscaled to meet the important and the complex needs, the difficult needs, that some children present with and when some families are taking on the responsibility to help those children with those needs. So there are allowances that can be scaled up as needed. There is obviously also the indexation, and then there are a range of other supports that I have listed for you in this chamber on numerous occasions already that go to supporting carers in the important work that they do for some of the most vulnerable children in our community.

 Matthew BACH (North-Eastern Metropolitan) (12:34): Thank you so much. I appreciate the minister’s response and also her efforts to clarify the comments she made yesterday. Minister, to action the carers strategy the government established the carers strategy working group. Have you met with this group?

 Lizzie BLANDTHORN (Western Metropolitan – Minister for Disability, Ageing and Carers, Minister for Child Protection and Family Services) (12:34): I have not met with that group, no. I have met with a number of people involved, though, in representing carers and spoken with carers themselves about the important work that they do in providing care for the most vulnerable children in our community. From this role I can assure you that as I meet with many other people carers in particular will continue to be a focus of that. I am very pleased to have had the conversations I have had so far, in the 10 weeks that I have had responsibility for this portfolio, with many a person who is involved in both child protection as a whole but more specifically foster caring and the organisations that represent them, and I will continue of course to have those consultations.