Mackay councillor Martin Bella calls for changes to ‘disgraceful’ residential care arrangements
A community leader says ‘common sense’ changes to state-run residential care homes could improve safety for kids, carers and locals after Bailey Pini’s death.
Whitsunday
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A Mackay councillor is calling for an overhaul of child safety services following the death of a 13-year-old in state care earlier this week.
Martin Bella said he was fed up with "excuses" about the state of child safety services in the Mackay and Sarina region, calling Bailey Pini's death while in residential care in Sarina "just another government failure".
Cr Bella said he had been "hammering for months" to get issues at residential care facilities in Sarina "sorted out", without a satisfactory response from state government authorities.
He questioned how living arrangements where he said supervisors lacked "adequate control" over their juvenile tenants could be allowed to continue in the wake of multiple "heinous" incidents at local care homes.
"The supervision in care homes is a disgrace. They have juveniles in there that at times terrorise the surrounding region, and even kids within the home are not safe," Cr Bella claimed.
"You have repeat offenders put in the same environment as kids who go in there for all the right reasons. And they're not adequately protected from predators."
Cr Bella wanted to see changes to the operation of residential care facilities in his home town of Sarina and beyond, including keeping children with criminal histories separate from those without, giving supervisors greater powers to physically intervene in emergency situations where safety was at risk, and putting the facilities in "more remote areas, where kids can't just walk out onto the road and hitch a ride or steal a car".
"The stupid thing is you have four people in these homes with one carer in attendance and the carer has no ability to in any way restrain these residents," he said.
"If you had four teenage kids in your house, with no ability to discipline them, what do you think would happen?
"It is the responsibility of authorities to keep people safe, and children coming from a dangerous environment should not be put into another dangerous environment.
"And if a crime's being committed in that premises, whoever is there should be willing and capable and allowed to intervene to save the victim immediately. It is just common sense."
Children Minister Leanne Linard declined to respond to Cr Bella's claims when approached for comment on Thursday.
With regards to Bailey Pini, Ms Linard said reviews were automatically carried out when a child in care died.
"The death of this young boy and serious injury of another is devastating, and my thoughts are with their family, friends and community," she said.
"Police are investigating this tragedy and preparing a report for the coroner."
Whitsunday MP and Opposition spokeswoman for Child Protection Amanda Camm said there needed to be "significant investment in holistic support services required to meet the complex needs that many children and young people in care require due to the trauma that has contributed to them being placed in care".
"Carers also need to be supported and full disclosure of the children's history, needs and context is critical for their safety and the safety of the children. The department need to improve processes around this," Ms Camm said.
Mackay Mayor Greg Williamson and Mackay MP Julienne Gilbert were also contacted for comment.
Originally published as Call for system overhaul following death of child in care
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