SACOSS, the Public Service Association and the SA Financial Counsellors Association today called on the Minister for Child Protection to reconsider axing her Department’s Financial Counselling Service.
But Rachel Sanderson told Parliament on Thursday she’s “not responsible”:
Stinson: When will the tender be advertised for a financial counselling service to replace the Department’s soon-to-be-axed Financial Wellbeing Counselling Service?
Sanderson: That’s an operational matter and I’m not responsible to the house.
This stunning abdication of responsibility begs the question – if Rachel Sanderson isn’t in charge of the Department of Child Protection – who is?
In September 2018, the Minister announced the $4.4 million Financial Counselling Service would be axed on 30 June 2019, sacking 59 FTE employees.
At Estimates last year the Minister stated a public tender would be issued for a replacement service “within nine months”. That plan appears to have been scrapped.
DCP financial counsellors support families at risk of entering the child protection system, foster and kinship carers, and young people who are leaving state care.
Quotes attributable to the Shadow Minister for Child Protection Jayne Stinson
If Rachel Sanderson isn’t in charge of her own Department – who is?
It’s truly stunning that the Minister for Child Protection could claim she’s not responsible for axing 59 financial counsellors in last September’s DCP budget.
The buck stops with the Minister. This is a Minister who either doesn’t know about the operation of her Department or doesn’t want to know.
Despite the promises of a $1 million NGO-run service, no tender has been released and the sector is now calling for this short sighted decision to be reversed.