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Mrs BARBARA PERRY: I direct my question to the Minister for Family and Community Services.

The SPEAKER: Order! Government members will come to order. There is no reason for any interjections at this stage.

Mrs BARBARA PERRY: Last year the Government told the Ombudsman that all child protection caseworker vacancies would be filled by January 2012. In light of this commitment what is the current statewide caseworker vacancy rate?

Ms PRU GOWARD: I thank the member for Auburn for her question. As the member well knows, caseworker vacancy rates vary from week to week and month-to-month because of issues such as pregnancies, maternity leave, acting positions, et cetera. But I can inform the member that the number of child protection caseworkers has not been cut since the O'Farrell Government came to office. As I said earlier, the Government is struggling with an enormous number of restrictive work practices and bans that have been imposed by the union over the past several months.

Child deaths are always tragedies, and it certainly does not help when caseworkers struggle under additionally restrictive work conditions. It is distressing that the Opposition, in cahoots with its union masters over the past couple of weeks, has run a shocking campaign that has denigrated caseworkers and the work they do, lied about caseworker resources and the child protection budget, and twisted the complexity of Community Services operations. We review our casework to a very high level. That is why we have started to produce the first annual report on child deaths. Ms Linda Burney: That is not true. Ms PRU GOWARD: It is the most transparent report that examines Community Services practices in Australia. I think it is a great step forward in transparency.

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Canterbury will come to order.

Ms PRU GOWARD: Let me get to the work bans and restrictive work practices.

Mr John Robertson: Point of order—

Mr Andrew Stoner: You don't want to hear what your unions want to do.

The SPEAKER: Order! The Deputy Premier will come to order. The member for Monaro will come to order. The member for Wyong will come to order. The Leader of the Opposition has the call.

Mr John Robertson: My point of order is Standing Order 129, relevance. The question is specifically about the current statewide caseworker vacancy rate. As much as the Minister would like, once again, to go off on a tangent about unions, what workers are doing and the like, the question is specifically about what she is doing and what the statewide vacancy rate is now. I ask you to draw her back to the leave of the question.

The SPEAKER: Order! I understand the point of order. In the first minute of her answer the Minister specifically addressed the statewide vacancy rate as being variable at any one particular time. At the moment she is being relevant to the question asked, so the point of order is not upheld.

Ms PRU GOWARD: I repeat that the vacancy rate, for example, in the Wollongong office is one-third less than it was when we came to office. So we have exactly the same number of caseworkers in Wollongong, but a reduction in the vacancy rate by one-third. I think that is a good thing. Ms Noreen Hay: The workers don't think it's good.

Ms PRU GOWARD: Yes, they do because they can get on with their job.

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Wollongong will not argue with the Minister.

Ms PRU GOWARD: The member for Wollongong needs to understand that caseworkers like doing their job. They are not there to play games; they are there to take seriously— Ms Noreen Hay: I know what they do. The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Wollongong will cease arguing. The Minister is answering the question. Ms PRU GOWARD: As the Ombudsman found only a year ago, the department is very well resourced. Despite the significant increases in spending in the department under Labor, caseworkers were seeing fewer children than they were previously. We need to understand the complexity of child protection in New South Wales, the conditions under which caseworkers— Ms Linda Burney: Answer the question. Ms PRU GOWARD:I have answered the question. I remind members that the most alarming public sector ban is work ban number 17, which states:

Members are directed not to participate in routine and regular complex case reviews led by any Director of Child and Family or any other director.

That directly risks the safety of vulnerable children and young people. It is a disgrace and it makes a further moral mockery of the campaign by the union in the run-up to its own elections. In addition, the Public Service Association is opposed to caseworkers working across more than one Community Services office, which further limits our capacity to fill gaps when there are gaps and ensure that children are seen when they need to be seen.

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Canterbury will come to order.

Ms PRU GOWARD: The Public Service Association has also opposed reforms for caseworkers to do home visits alone, even when the occupational health and safety and risks of those visits are ranked as low.

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Macquarie Fields will come to order.

Ms PRU GOWARD: Imagine how many more home visits caseworkers could make if the Public Service Association did not get in the way of child safety. [Time expired.]  ^{_{(Source : http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/hansart.nsf/V3Key/LA20120815013?open&refNavID=HA8_1)}}

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