Cassy O’Connor MP | Greens Leader
Across Tasmania, child safety workers have walked off the job today due to the Liberals’ failure to resource this critical service.
Given the state of child protection in Tasmania, it’s completely reasonable for unions to call for an Emergency Workforce Package for the Child Safety Service and Advice & Referral Line. These are the people who are at the coal face, dealing with the most at-risk children in the state.
At a time when government should be prioritising child safety, those on the front line have been left waiting for a month.
This is a system that has been under-resourced for far too long and the reality of what that looks like - and the subsequent impact on children in Tasmania - has been laid bare in the Commission of Inquiry.
Yet it’s been 28 days since the CPSU met with the Premier, and they haven’t been given a single commitment. What is the Premier waiting for?
When workers have to walk off the job to get a hearing, we are in dire straits. For the sake of Tasmania’s most at-risk children, Premier Rockliff must act now.