Published Wednesday, 07 February, 2007 at 04:41 PM
Minister for Child Safety
The Honourable Desley Boyle
Child Safety Minister to visit Townsville
Child Safety Minister Desley Boyle will visit Townsville on 28 February to meet with a broad range of groups to discuss child protection issues facing the area.
“I want to get a total picture of what’s happening with child safety in Townsville.
“I’ll visit the Townsville and Thuringowa Child Safety Service Centres to hear first-hand from our frontline staff about the issues they confront.
“I will also be meeting with people who make a contribution to child safety including Indigenous groups, family law workers, magistrates, lawyers and foster carers.
“I recently spent a day in one of our Gold Coast offices to gain an insight into the child protection problems facing the Coast – most of which revolve around drug or alcohol abuse by parents.
“While in Townsville I’ll find out what the concerns are in North Queensland and take the opportunity to congratulate child safety officers for their hard work. They do a difficult, at times thankless job, with plenty of critics on the sidelines.
“But they are playing a crucial role in protecting vulnerable children.
“Wherever I go in Queensland as Child Safety Minister I try and catch up with local foster carers to give them a pat on the back.
“We’d be lost without foster carers so I’ll make sure to thank the ones we have and appeal for more people to become foster carers,” Ms Boyle said.
Ends
Media contact: 3224 7477
7 February 2007
“I want to get a total picture of what’s happening with child safety in Townsville.
“I’ll visit the Townsville and Thuringowa Child Safety Service Centres to hear first-hand from our frontline staff about the issues they confront.
“I will also be meeting with people who make a contribution to child safety including Indigenous groups, family law workers, magistrates, lawyers and foster carers.
“I recently spent a day in one of our Gold Coast offices to gain an insight into the child protection problems facing the Coast – most of which revolve around drug or alcohol abuse by parents.
“While in Townsville I’ll find out what the concerns are in North Queensland and take the opportunity to congratulate child safety officers for their hard work. They do a difficult, at times thankless job, with plenty of critics on the sidelines.
“But they are playing a crucial role in protecting vulnerable children.
“Wherever I go in Queensland as Child Safety Minister I try and catch up with local foster carers to give them a pat on the back.
“We’d be lost without foster carers so I’ll make sure to thank the ones we have and appeal for more people to become foster carers,” Ms Boyle said.
Ends
Media contact: 3224 7477
7 February 2007