Child abuse cases soar 45% in one year

Dr Muriel Newman
Wednesday, 22 June 2005
Press Releases - Social Welfare

It is a scandal that child abuse cases have skyrocketed 45 percent to a record 13,017 cases in the last year, ACT Deputy Leader and Welfare spokesman Dr Muriel Newman said today.

New figures released to Dr Newman by Social Development and Employment Minister Ruth Dyson, show the number of established cases of child abuse jumped 45 percent in the 12 months to the end of May, from 8,944 to 13,017.

“The record levels of child abuse are an indictment on Labour, which in spite of restructuring the department to death and flinging another $150 million of taxpayers’ money into the bureacracy, has failed to stop the growth of child abuse in New Zealand.

“The failure of Steve Maharey and Ruth Dyson on child abuse is equal to the hospital waiting list fiasco - in spite of the excuses the end result is a disaster of scandalous proportions.

“Labour has refused to address the underlying causes of this problem, which is why it will continue to get worse. In this area ad-hoc solutions and more money are not the answer.

“ACT proposes a complete overhaul of the way we combat child abuse, including the creation of a one-stop shop that focuses primarily on reducing the number of established child abuse cases.

*PQ number 6985

ENDS

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