- Child welfare inquiry turned into farce by official secrecy
- By Caroline Overington
- The Australian
- 28/08/2008 Make a Comment
- Contributed by: BeWitched ( 4 articles in 2008 )
THE NSW inquiry into child welfare has descended into secrecy and farce, with more than 500 complaints about the beleaguered Department of Community Services being withheld from public view.
The inquiry, headed by retired judge James Wood and due to report on September 30, was supposed to put DOCS under a microscope.
But it intends to keep hidden more than 80 per cent of the submissions it has received, many of them fiercely critical of DOCS.
The Australian understands that submissions from former DOCS case workers, some of whom have resigned after years of stress at the child welfare coalface, are among those being kept secret.
The inquiry is known to be under-staffed and under-resourced. Inquiry secretary Carl Hook left last week and will not be replaced.
The Wood inquiry was called after a series of shocking child deaths in NSW, including the case of Dean Shillingsworth, 2, whose body was found folded inside a suitcase floating in a lake; and the case of Shellay Ward, 7, who starved to death in a room smeared with faeces.
Both children were known to DOCS and were among more than 70 neglected children who died in NSW last year.
The state Labor Government said the inquiry would be transparent and thorough, but only 47 of the more than 600 submissions received have been made public.
The Australian this week requested access to 500 other submissions but was told they would be kept secret.
Acting in Mr Hook's place is Julie Wynn, who told The Australian the inquiry made its own decisions about what information to make public, and did not have to explain its criteria for keeping information private.
The inquiry is taxpayer-funded, and was established by Premier Morris Iemma's department for the benefit of the people of NSW.
Ms Wynn said the decision to withhold most of the submissions was made by counsel assisting the inquiry, Gail Furness, and she did not need to explain why they were being withheld.
"Some submissions may contain information that the inquiry does not wish to make public," Ms Wynn said, adding the decisions were made "in the best interests of the inquiry".
Ms Wynn said the inquiry had received "in excess of 600 submissions" and only those on the website - about 47, as of yesterday - would be made public. She acknowledged a shortage of staff, but said Mr Hook had left the inquiry this month to "return to his substantive position with another government department".
She also referred The Australian to the inquiry website, which says: "Anonymous submissions may be made. The inquiry will not make public any submission or part of any submission if its author wishes it to remain confidential."
DOCS received more than 300,000 reports of abused or neglected children last year and is battling to retain staff.
The inquiry, headed by retired judge James Wood and due to report on September 30, was supposed to put DOCS under a microscope.
But it intends to keep hidden more than 80 per cent of the submissions it has received, many of them fiercely critical of DOCS.
The Australian understands that submissions from former DOCS case workers, some of whom have resigned after years of stress at the child welfare coalface, are among those being kept secret.
The inquiry is known to be under-staffed and under-resourced. Inquiry secretary Carl Hook left last week and will not be replaced.
The Wood inquiry was called after a series of shocking child deaths in NSW, including the case of Dean Shillingsworth, 2, whose body was found folded inside a suitcase floating in a lake; and the case of Shellay Ward, 7, who starved to death in a room smeared with faeces.
Both children were known to DOCS and were among more than 70 neglected children who died in NSW last year.
The state Labor Government said the inquiry would be transparent and thorough, but only 47 of the more than 600 submissions received have been made public.
The Australian this week requested access to 500 other submissions but was told they would be kept secret.
Acting in Mr Hook's place is Julie Wynn, who told The Australian the inquiry made its own decisions about what information to make public, and did not have to explain its criteria for keeping information private.
The inquiry is taxpayer-funded, and was established by Premier Morris Iemma's department for the benefit of the people of NSW.
Ms Wynn said the decision to withhold most of the submissions was made by counsel assisting the inquiry, Gail Furness, and she did not need to explain why they were being withheld.
"Some submissions may contain information that the inquiry does not wish to make public," Ms Wynn said, adding the decisions were made "in the best interests of the inquiry".
Ms Wynn said the inquiry had received "in excess of 600 submissions" and only those on the website - about 47, as of yesterday - would be made public. She acknowledged a shortage of staff, but said Mr Hook had left the inquiry this month to "return to his substantive position with another government department".
She also referred The Australian to the inquiry website, which says: "Anonymous submissions may be made. The inquiry will not make public any submission or part of any submission if its author wishes it to remain confidential."
DOCS received more than 300,000 reports of abused or neglected children last year and is battling to retain staff.
Source: https://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24253233-5006784,00.html
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