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June 12th, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda
Premier Campbell Newman. Photo: Harrison Saragossi
Queensland Premier Campbell Newman has demanded an explanation from one of his ministers following reports child safety desk staff are having their contracts axed.
brisbanetimes.com.au last week reported the Together union was worried about the impact of removing temporary employees working at the front counters of child safety service centres.
The centres, located around Queensland, are a point of contact for residents and carers to make child safety-related enquiries or report concerns.
The Minister for Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services, Tracy Davis, did not deny the report on Friday, saying she was “unable to comment at this stage”.
Mr Newman yesterday revealed he had spoken “at length” to Ms Davis to discuss the concerns and had called on her to “challenge” her department.
“I am seeking some clarification as to whether this is indeed the case,” he said.
“As far as I’m concerned people at the coal face, whether they be police, or ambulance officers, or child safety efforts are frontline and I am concerned about the report.”
The comments came as Together said some departmental employees would take part in lunchtime protests today, coinciding with the union and department returning to the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission amid a brawl over job cuts.
Mr Newman said frontline service delivery needed to be maintained and looking after kids was vitally important.
“That’s why I spent a significant period of time on Friday and I said to the minister you need to challenge your department in relation to these reports because if that was correct it’s not what I wanted to see happen,” he said.
“This is a big organisation. You’ll see some of the things we want to do at the front end of the ship but occasionally it takes a little while for the people in the engine room to implement.”
Mr Newman said he would be concerned about people being taken off front counters at child safety service centres, “unless something else is put in place” to ensure service delivery continued.
Speaking generally, he said it was possible that changes to work practices, or technology, did not require the same level of people.
“But I don’t want a situation where people have been pulled out, nothing’s been put in place and we don’t look after kids – that’s the bottom line,” Mr Newman said.
Together secretary Alex Scott welcomed Mr Newman’s comments, saying the union was also “deeply committed” to child safety services being provided to the community.
“But clearly what the Premier is saying and what the department is doing are two fundamentally different things,” Mr Scott said.
Mr Scott said the union was using the Industrial Relations Commission to seek more information from the department about what jobs were going, but argued the removal of temporary staff at child safety service centres would have an impact on frontline services.
“We definitely know they are cutting the admin staff which is increasing the workloads of the already-strained child safety officers,” he said.
Mr Scott said the department was reluctant to inform staff exactly what was occurring and he suggested this meant it may not be telling politicians either.
“That’s why we think there’s a rogue agency element behind this,” he said.
Ms Davis did not comment on the issue yesterday.
The tussle over child safety jobs comes as the Newman government prepares to launch an inquiry into the child protection system.
Mr Newman said cabinet yesterday began considering the terms of reference for the government’s promised inquiry into the child protection system.
This was yet to be finalised but the inquiry was about making sure the recommendations of the previous Forde inquiry were being met and finding where the holes were, he said.
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