Regional shires push back against Royal Commission call for child safety officers in local government

Shires throughout the Great Southern and Wheatbelt are pushing back against a royal commission recommendation that would require local governments to appoint a child safety officer. The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse was finalised in 2017, with its final report listing 189 recommendations across Federal, State, education and religious bodies. Recommendation 6.12 says local governments should “designate child safety officer positions from existing staff profiles” to promote child safety throughout their communities. The Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries has published a discussion paper seeking feedback from local governments on this recommendation by tomorrow as it prepares its policy position. Last month, the Katanning and Narrogin councils voted to push back against the recommendation, voting in favour of officer recommendations that rejected the notion local governments should appoint child safety officers. “This role is best delivered by an adequately administered and funded State Government Agency, such as the existing Department of (Communities), with appropriate trained, skilled and supported officers at regional centres throughout WA, including Katanning, and not through the approach outlined by the department,” the Shire of Katanning said. A State Government spokesman said recommendation 6.12 was one of hundreds that required a “whole-of-community effort” across institutions, from local to Federal Government, to ensure the findings were not ignored. “Federal and State Governments will take the lead in developing child safeguarding policy, frameworks, strategies, resources, training and other areas of focus,” the spokesman said. “The State Government is doing its bit, after committing to address all of the recommendations directed at the State.” At last week’s council meeting, Shire of Katanning deputy president John Goodheart said he supported the concept, but he was not sure why local government should be responsible for delivering it. “My main concern is I think the need for child officers is a great idea, we just need more money or we need greater assistance from the State Government,” he said. “Where are we going to find the money and what services are we going to have to cut? Because we don’t have a lot of options apart from raising rates. “We have a finite way of raising revenue, and every time we get asked to fund these kind of projects it takes money away from something else that our community desperately needs.” According to the DLGSC, recommendation 6.12 is not asking local governments to designate child protection workers, as that is a position already filled by the department. Rather, it is recommending child safety officer functions to be undertaken by a current member of staff that already has a role in local government. “We don’t believe it is a local government role and there are other funded agencies such as the Department of (Communities) who should be taking that role,” Shire of Katanning president Liz Guidera said after the meeting. Shire of Narrogin chief executive Dale Stewart said his council’s position did not mean it opposed the principles of child protection. He said it was about holding the State Government to account.