Merged super-department Families SA and Education Department created by Jay Weatherill to finally split

UPDATE: PREMIER Jay Weatherill has survived a no confidence brought against him by the Liberals over his handling of child protection in the state.

• Families SA to split off from Education Department
• Daniel Wills: Most humiliating backdown for Weatherill
• Our horrific string of child protection disasters
• Lauren Novak: Changed Familes SA the only way to do better

PREMIER Jay Weatherill has survived a no confidence brought against him by the Liberals over his handling of child protection in the state.

Opposition Leader Steven Marshall moved the motion at the end of a fiery Question Time.

He said Jay Weatherill has been “inextricably linked” to failures in child protection over more than a decade.

Weatherill survives no confidence as Labor and independent ministers use their numbers #saparli #qtsa @theTiser

— Daniel Wills (@DanWillsTiser) June 22, 2016

MPs spent an hour debating the issue in state Parliament before the vote came out in Mr Weatherill’s favour.

Question Time earlier resumed after Speaker Michael Atkinson walked out during heated scenes over the damning Families SA royal commission interim findings.

Mr Atkinson had ejected Duncan McFetridge, David Pisoni and Vincent Tarzia from the House of Representatives as the State Opposition demanded Mr Weatherill resign over the findings.

MPs dividing for vote on no confidence motion in Premier Jay Weatherill over child protection @theTiser #saparli pic.twitter.com/0hFaMbeRka

— Lauren Novak (@Lauren__Dailey) June 22, 2016

Mr Weatherill claimed the Liberals were attempting to stretch the story out for maximum political damage and were planning to move a no confidence motion on Thursday.

He said the call for his resignation would have had “more credibility” on Tuesday, when the royal commission’s findings were released.

His challenge sent the house into uproar, leading Mr Atkinson to walk out until order was restored, after earlier threatening to abandon Question Time entirely.

The rowdy scenes came after Mr Marshall called on Mr Weatherill to apologise “unreservedly” for “failings” in the child protection system — and then resign.

Speaker Michael Atkinson dramatically walks out of #qtsa. Won't return until order is restored. @theTiser pic.twitter.com/4auamllked

— Daniel Wills (@DanWillsTiser) June 22, 2016

It followed the announcement on Tuesday that Families SA would be split from the Education Department, in a shock retreat by Mr Weatherill, the architect of their merger four years ago.

“Premier Weatherill’s decision to merge Families SA with the Education Department has been an unmitigated disaster and an abject failure,” Mr Marshall said.

Mr Weatherill on Tuesday abandoned his strident defence of the super-department in the face of surprising and scathing recommendations by the woman charged with finding ways to fix the state’s child protection system.

Jay prepared to offer motion if no confidence "right here, right now". House in uproar. @theTiser pic.twitter.com/2KkpMduRO5

— Daniel Wills (@DanWillsTiser) June 22, 2016

Royal Commissioner Margaret Nyland said she felt compelled to release interim recommendations now on a system “in crisis’’ so the Government could “take immediate steps” to begin setting up a new child protection department. It will be run by a new chief executive with “established credibility” in the field.

Mr Weatherill immediately accepted the recommendation and said an international recruitment process had begun.

He conceded merging Families SA with the wider Education Department in late 2011 was the wrong decision.

“It was my idea, I put it in place and it hasn’t worked, so I have to take responsibility for that,” he said.

“The change that I made hasn’t worked and we need a fresh start.”

This morning, he was even more contrite: “I am sorry,” he told FIVEaa.

Child Protection Reform Minister John Rau and Premier Jay Weatherill.

“It’s awful that we don’t have basically a child protection system that’s able to protect every single child.

“This is a fundamental role of government and as a government we’ve failed little children.

“There’s no doubt about that.”

“The changes that were put in place, there’s no doubt they haven’t worked,” he said on Tuesday.

A major reshuffle of State Government chief executives — announced at the same time as the Government’s response to Ms Nyland’s recommendations — included shifting education boss Tony Harrison to take charge of the Communities and Social Inclusion Department.

Attorney-General’s Department chief executive Rick Persse will replace Mr Harrison, a former police officer who had no specific education or child protection background when appointed. Mr Persse will oversee both education and child protection until the new system is implemented.

The chiefs will remain on their previous salaries but they will be renegotiated in the future.

Child Protection Royal Comissioner Margaret Nyland.

The Liberal Opposition has long called for the agency to be split from the department but Mr Weatherill has fiercely opposed the separation, arguing it was the best arrangement to protect children.

However, he emphasised that, at the time of establishing the Royal Commission, he had conceded he was “more than happy for the question of departmental structures to be explored” by the commission.

Former Supreme Court Justice Nyland is due to hand down her full report on August 5. In a statement, Ms Nyland warned that “public confidence in the ability of Families SA to fulfil its statutory mandate is at an all-time low”. “The child protection system has not been working for some time and is now in crisis,” she said.

“Its agenda cannot continue to be subservient to the overpowering agenda of a larger (education) department.

“Child protection workers cannot continue to function in an environment where their difficult professional decisions are questioned and criticised at every turn and where they feel unsupported by senior management.” Mr Harrison, was not available for interview on Tuesday, but in a farewell email to staff he said that he had “sought to enhance child protection for our community’s most vulnerable children”. “As chief executive, my aim has been to create a culture of continuous improvement and growth,” he wrote.

Mr Harrison will still be paid his $450,000 salary despite his shunting.

Ms Nyland’s interim recommendations call for:

A NEW chief executive who is “capable of leading by example” with experience in child protection, who would report directly to a minister.

A UNIT within the new Child Protection Department dedicated to better data collection and research.

CLOSER connections between managers and frontline workers.

ALLOWING frontline staff to make more decisions about the welfare of the children they work with.

“This is not just a change of departmental location but rather a committed, serious and profound shift in leadership and culture,” Ms Nyland said.

Mr Weatherill said the Government would eventually appoint a Child Protection Minister. However, that person might also hold other portfolio responsibilities.

Mr Marshall said the new minister should not be distracted by multiple responsibilities, and should be someone other than current Child Protection Reform Minister John Rau or Education and Child Development Minister Susan Close.

Mr Marshall also warned the new chief executive position must not be “a job for a Labor mate”.

He said it had been “a profound mistake” to merge Families SA with the Education Department in the first place.

“Commissioner Nyland’s findings that child protection is in crisis in South Australia confirm the magnitude of this error,” he said.

The Opposition grilled Mr Weatherill on the Government’s child protection record during a heated Question Time in Parliament on Tuesday.

Mr Weatherill’s defence prompted an outburst from Opposition Deputy Leader Vickie Chapman, who was ejected from the chamber by the Speaker. Family First MLC Robert Brokenshire condemned the Government for “not admitting sooner that their super-department was a failed experiment”.

“The Government has been too concerned about what the failure of the department looked like politically,” he said.

The union representing Families SA social workers described the establishment of a new department as “a crucial step” in fixing a “flawed’’ system. Public Service Association general secretary Nev Kitchin said Families SA had been “bereft of real leadership’’ as it lurched from “crisis to crisis’’. While welcoming the overhaul, Mr Kitchin called on the new leadership team to “ensure the mistakes of its predecessor are not repeated’’.

The Guardian for children in state care, Amanda Shaw, said hiring a new chief executive with “knowledge about the impact that trauma has on childhood development” would benefit at-risk children.

AnglicareSA CEO Peter Sandeman said the merged structure “did not fully support” child protection and that Tuesday’s announcement “shows a commitment to improving a system that had to be changed”.

Education leaders and unions welcomed the split, saying it would allow teachers to focus on education outcomes.

State president of the Australian Education Union, Howard Spreadbury, said the AEU had been calling for the separation of the two departments “for some time”.

“Virtually from the get-go, our members in schools were expressing the view education was becoming a secondary consideration of the department,” he said.

SA Primary Principals Association president Pam Kent acknowledged “the intent” behind the original merger but said educators “really believe the DECD is a massive department that needs very strong focus”. SA Secondary Principals Association president Peter Mader said teachers would “now have a department more focused on building the skill and knowledge base of the state’s children.”