QLD Adoption: Joint plan between Labor and LNP will see adoptions increase in a bid rescue vulnerable children

More children will be permanently taken from irresponsible parents and put up for adoption after State Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk promised to work with the LNP to fix child safety.

MORE children will be permanently taken from irresponsible parents and put up for adoption after State Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk promised to work with the LNP to fix child safety.

Adoption will now be “routinely and genuinely considered’’ where reunification is unlikely, particularly for children aged under three, after Ms Palaszczuk adopted all recommendations from the Mason Jet Lee coronial inquest.

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The Government will also consider whether children should be permanently placed once they have been in the department’s care for two years, as is done in NSW.

“I think we need to absolutely, as a government and a community, look at this,’’ Ms Palaszczuk said. “So my commitment today to the people of Queensland is that we will work with the stakeholders to bring about legislation to this House and I ask the Opposition to be part of that.”

The Coroner’s report also recommended the Child Safety Department report the numbers of children adopted every six months for the next five years. It’s not clear how many adoptions currently take place, with State Child Safety Minister Di Farmer’s office failing to provide numbers of adoptions over the past three years before deadline.

Her office also did not answer how many drug tests were being carried out per year on parents, despite Ms Palaszczuk earlier highlighting the department’s drug-testing regimen.

“What I am saying to the Leader of the Opposition today is, I’m asking yourselves to work with my government and let’s get it right,’’ she said.

Ms Palaszczuk said more police did need to work in child safety – a move proposed by Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington.

More health professionals and mental health specialists were also needed inside the department, as well as more “good people” willing to foster children, she said.

Ms Frecklington said she would happily work with Labor on the important issue if the invitation was genuine.