CHILD PROTECTION

Mr BIGNELL (Mawson) (14:08): My question is to the Premier. Can the Premier advise the house about the government's initiative to help protect children and, at the same time, help keep families together?

The Hon. M.D. RANN (Ramsay—Premier, Minister for Economic Development, Minister for Social Inclusion, Minister for the Arts, Minister for Sustainability and Climate Change) (14:09): I think the fact that members opposite laugh about child protection issues says more about them than anything else.

The Hon. P.F. Conlon: It speaks volumes.

The Hon. M.D. RANN: It speaks volumes.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. M.D. RANN: We have seen today in the newspapers the story of an immense tragedy that has shocked and sickened every single South Australian, who is asking how a small child could possibly be administered methadone.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The Premier will sit down a minute. We will not have this across the floor. It is a big day today and this is a serious issue.

The Hon. K.O. Foley interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, the minister for defence! The Premier.

The Hon. M.D. RANN: It is just appalling to turn a tragedy like this into some kind of political issue. It is absolutely—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. M.D. RANN: —shocking, because every single South Australian—

Mr Pisoni interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, the member for Unley!

The Hon. M.D. RANN: —is disgusted with what happened—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. M.D. RANN: —with this tragedy, and we are disgusted with you—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. M.D. RANN: —trying to play games on this issue.

Ms Chapman interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, the member for Bragg!

Ms Chapman interjecting:

The Hon. M.D. RANN: This state government, after the Layton review—

The SPEAKER: Order, Premier! The member for Bragg, you are warned. We won't have this yelling across the floor. This is a very serious issue. The Premier.

The Hon. M.D. RANN: Thank you. The government very early on—in fact, with Steph Key as minister, and the Layton review, which ended up with the biggest commitment of money for child protection, which had been neglected by previous governments—we saw the resources put in—hundreds of millions of dollars of extra resources—in this critical area of child protection because there is nothing more important than the care of our children.

Today we are going one step further in today's budget. The state government will spend an extra $69.1 million over the next four years to boost the state's child protection system. The initiative funded in this budget will have a strong focus on protecting the most vulnerable in our community, including a significant increase in spending to meet the growing number of children needing state care.

Importantly, much of this investment will be aimed at keeping siblings in state care together and reunifying them with their families sooner. As part of the initiative, we need to be supporting our children in state care and making sure we have the right services in place. That is why the government will be allocating an extra $41.7 million over four years to meet the home-based, residential and emergency care costs of children in need of alternative care.

We will also be investing $8.4 million for six new residential care homes, which will help us provide a stable and secure environment for children in state care. The new residential care arrangements will see the homes in clusters of three, drawing on the successes of two other residential care facilities funded in the 2008-09 budget.

Each cluster will be home to up to 12 children at a time, living across the three homes, and they will be cared for by Families SA staff and supported by social workers. These new homes will focus on keeping sibling groups together, while working towards reunifying them with their parents when—and only when—it is appropriate.

The new facilities will also help us achieve the goal of having no children in motel-style accommodation. When children need to be removed from the family home, as is the case on many occasions, it is important that the alternative care arrangements give them the best chance possible for reunification with their family and provide them with a safe and comfortable place to stay while working towards this outcome.

The government is also allocating an additional $19 million over the next four years to increase services to support the reunification of children in state care with their families. The funding will enable dedicated reunification teams to work intensively with families. These Families SA teams will include therapists, nurses, specialist social workers and family support workers to work with parents in their own home to help families get back together and reduce the number of children needing long-term alternative care arrangements. This issue is too important to play games with.