Editorial: Spot fires need to be doused

The Queensland Government is in disrepair, with spot fires burning across a large breadth of portfolios and a number of departments in chaos, writes the Editor.

It is easy to govern when things are going your way.

Cabinet meetings can be dominated by renewable energy projects, major upgrades to stadiums and infrastructure ahead of Brisbane 2032, and other ideas that are the lifeblood of good leadership.

But when your state is in disrepair and you have spot fires burning across a large breadth of your portfolios, it would make sense that you should spend the majority of your time, money and resources getting those under control.

Those fires continue to grow with a number of departments in chaos.

The Queensland Police Service is set to release a report on Monday that will send shockwaves through the force.

The Commissioner is fighting to keep her job, officers have been accused of misogyny, sexism and racism, and it’s going to cost a small fortune to come out the other side of the controversy. This has happened under the watchful eye of Police Minister Mark Ryan.

Police Minister Mark Ryan. Picture: Richard Gosling

Queensland Health and the Ambulance Service are in disarray with horrendous cases of ramping, to wait times, to hospitals failing patients and the horrific maternity ward cases we have reported on. This has happened under the watchful eye of Minister for Health and Ambulance Services Yvette D’Ath.

Minister for Health and Ambulance Services Yvette D'Ath. Picture: Liam Kidston

The Courier-Mail has extensively reported on the state’s housing crisis in our Hitting Home campaign that detailed the dire situation for thousands of Queensland families struggling to find a place to live. This has happened under the watchful eye of Minister for Communities and Housing Leeanne Enoch.

Queensland Housing Minister Leeanne Enoch. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled

Transport and Main Roads continue to have cost blowouts on their major projects, including Cross River Rail and the M2, and we’re still waiting to hear about the election promise on the inland highway to north Queensland. This has happened under the watchful eye of Minister for Transport and Main Roads Mark Bailey.

Minister for Transport Mark Bailey. Picture: NewsWire / Sarah Marshall

And today we report on the woefully understaffed department of child safety, which currently has at least 150 officer positions, or 10 per cent of their child safety officer positions, unfilled across the state.

Minister for Children and Youth Justice Leanne Linard sits atop the portfolio responsible for the state’s most vulnerable children. Children who are at risk of sexual and physical abuse, homelessness and falling through the cracks.

Minister for Children and Youth Justice Leanne Linard.

The same children who are at risk of falling in with the wrong crowd and committing crime. The “small” number of repeat offenders Ms Linard refers to in speeches and press releases would have had dealings with the departments she is responsible for in the majority of cases. The same departments that are critically understaffed.

A department spokeswoman put the staffing issues down to “recruitment challenges”. But it’s a much deeper problem than that, according to LNP child safety spokeswoman Amanda Camm. She says more than 1000 cases reported to the department have not been completed within 100 days.

How we as a state treat our most vulnerable is a direct reflection on who we are as a people and, in this instance, not directing enough attention to, and filling these vacancies, is diabolical.

These kids are much more than statistics in an annual report, or a ministerial document, they are desperate for help and the state government needs to pile resources into child safety to give these children every chance in the world.

Otherwise that legacy you leave behind will be one of trauma, cyclical abuse and incarceration.

Originally published as Editorial: Spot fires need to be doused