Labour's Failing CYF Strategy

The Labour Government's Child, Youth and Family Budget announcements do little to address its serious failure to reduce child abuse in New Zealand, ACT New Zealand Social Welfare Spokesman Dr Muriel Newman said today.

"Answers to my written Parliamentary Questions have revealed that, under Labour's stewardship, the number of unallocated cases has exploded to 4048, as at the end of April 2004," Dr Newman said.

"This shocking increase of more 163 percent, from 1,537 in just two years, tells the true story of Labour's failure to reduce child abuse notifications - or to even have cases allocated.

"Equally damning is this Government's failure to reduce the number of notifications requiring further action. Answers to further Parliamentary Questions show that these notifications have exploded 90 percent - from 1419 in April 1999, to 2691 in April 2004.

"Despite relentless spin from Ministers Maharey and Dyson about `re-launching CYF', claims of extra resourcing and new cultures, Labour's child protection agency has failed New Zealand children. The facts are unarguable, and today we have the same rhetoric.

"CYF needs to be replaced by a fully-integrated, locally-controlled one-stop shop focussed on eliminating child abuse. Until this is done, we will continue to see the same tragic stories day after day," Dr Newman said.

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