Hon Ruth Dyson
Associate Minister for Social Development and Employment (Child, Youth and Family Services)

12 July 2006 Media Statement

CYF call centre best in New Zealand

Child, Youth and Family has an excellent call centre which is recognised as among the best in New Zealand, says CYF Minister Ruth Dyson.

In June, Child Youth and Family scooped the prestigious TUANZ Contact Centre of the Year award (more than 76 seats category) beating competitors such as Vodafone and Restaurant Brands.

The Minister dismissed claims from National's Anne Tolley about the performance of the CYF call centre as scare mongering.

"This is an attempt to score cheap political points in the current climate of concern over child abuse. It is particularly disappointing after the cross party commitment to find solutions to prevent family violence."

CYF call centre statistics show the average abandonment rate of calls from November 2005 to April 2006 was 1.05%.

"This rate is excellent when compared to the 2001 Australia and NZ Call Centre Industry Benchmark Study which listed call abandonment benchmarks for sectors such as manufacturing, telecommunications and insurance as ranging from 3% to 7%. Anne Tolley herself mentions the improvement in the call centre's statistics over the past six months. There can only be one reason for her claims – cheap political point scoring."

"The National Party is once again trying to destroy New Zealanders' faith in Child Youth and Family, an agency that does a huge amount of good for at-risk children and their families.

"Four out of every five children who are killed in New Zealand are not known to the department. For every child who dies at the hands of a parent or caregiver there are many other people around who could perhaps have stepped in and made a difference. Child, Youth and Family Services is most often the last link in the protective chain."

ENDS

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