Katherine Rich MP National Party Welfare Spokeswoman

03 November 2003

CYF crisis deepens after resignation

"It's hard to imagine how things could get any worse for the Department of Child Youth and Family after the sudden resignation of its chief executive Jackie Pivac," says National Party Welfare spokeswoman Katherine Rich.

"Ms Pivac has been forced to become the sacrificial lamb after Ruth Dyson refused to express confidence in the job she was doing."

The high profile departure comes less than a fortnight after the damning baseline review at CYF, which pinpointed such basic faults such as not knowing how many children are in its care.

"Ms Pivac has become the latest Government scapegoat for a Department that is in crisis," says Mrs Rich.

"She will be a circuit breaker that will allow Ruth Dyson to divert the nation's attention from the real issues affecting CYF - issues that the Labour Government promised to address.

"What's been clear from the outset is that throwing more money at the Department will not cure the deep seated culture that starts at the top," Mrs Rich says.

"Steve Maharey's been taken off the case after failing to make any difference to the Department, now the Government has found someone else to blame. "The National Party hopes that Ms Pivac's resignation will provide an opportunity for the Government to make desperately needed changes to the culture at CYF.

"But after four years of inaction under Labour, any changes will come too late for too many of our children," says Mrs Rich.

Ends

© Scoop Media