Liberal MP Roma Britnell storms out of parliament over missing pregnancy, STI data for children in state care
A Liberal MP has stormed out of a major parliamentary hearing, saying she is fed up with “non-answers” from bureaucrats who failed to provide data on pregnancies and STIs among children in state care.
A Liberal MP has stormed out of a major parliamentary hearing, declaring that she was fed up with “non-answers” from bureaucrats after they failed to provide data on pregnancies and STIs among children in state care.
A furious Roma Britnell, who is the first-time deputy chair of the Public Accounts of Estimates Committee, walked out on Friday afternoon after senior Department of Families, Fairness and Housing figures, including secretary Peta McCammon, claimed they did not have the numbers she was requesting.
Ms Britnell had sought figures for the number of children who had become pregnant or contracted an STI in state care, how long children were temporarily placed in hotels and caravan parks and how many safety devices had been issued.
Out of more than a dozen questions, the only concrete figures Ms McCammon was able to provide was the number of kids in the child protection system who had committed, or allegedly committed, an offence and were moving through the youth justice system.
“As of May 31st this year, 155 were dual clients of youth justice (and children protection),” she said.
She, however, could not provide the total number of children in child protection who came before the youth justice system in the 12 months to June 30 this year.
There are about 9000 kids in state care at one time.
Ms McCammon also revealed that she was aware of pregnancies among children in state care but claimed she did not have the data.
The revelations come weeks after a major Herald Sun investigation uncovered horrific stories of violence, sexual abuse and drug addition among children under the care of the Allan government.
On Friday afternoon, in what was described as a “prepared stunt” by Labor MP and PAEC member Michael Galea, a fed up Ms Britnell interrupted chair Sarah Connelly as she erupted over the lack of transparency.
“All week my colleagues and I have been trying to get answers, we’ve been met with interference from government members, non-answers, time wasting,” she said.
“You’re telling me here that machete bins have been working, there’s no knives on the street, health systems fine, children in care are all OK.”
“I really am genuinely shocked about the information that’s actually not provided.
“We cannot get financial outcomes.”
She proposed another hearing in December so “we can actually get to find out how the state of the books are for Victorians”.
Ms Britnell was met with fierce backlash from Labor MPs, including Mathew Hilakari who suggested she had wasted her own time.
“You are disappointed that you wasted your own time a lot of the time, and asking questions that are not relevant,” he said.
Ms Britnell bit back, saying the “people of Victoria want answers” as she stormed out.
Department figures said they would answer Ms Britnell’s questions on notice.
The hearing also revealed that the department was not tracking the average time family violence victims are spending in temporary accommodation, including in hotel rooms.
However, it was revealed that up to 123 households fleeing family violence were being housed in crisis accommodation across the state on any one night.
The senior bureaucrats were also grilled over figures which showed just 28,000 of a total 48,000 people who had applied for housing had actually been given accommodation.
Executive director for homeless and housing support Mark Stracey conceded that the figures were not good enough.
“Which is why we work very actively to get them into public housing and other options as well,” he said.
Originally published as Liberal MP Roma Britnell storms out of parliament over missing pregnancy, STI data for children in state care
