Coalition Pledges Umbrella Family Department

Coalition Pledges Umbrella Family Department

Sydney Morning Herald

Friday March 9, 2007

Alan Mascarenhas

THE Coalition has promised to create a single Department of Family and Community Services, as part of its plan to streamline the bureaucracy from 33 departments to nine.

Pledging to "refocus government on outcomes" at a preschool in Cobbitty yesterday, the Opposition Leader, Peter Debnam, said the umbrella department would cover areas such as housing, aged care and child protection.

However, he refused to quantify the expected savings or specify which jobs would be cut.

"This is all about breaking down the barriers to make sure each government department and agency that works with families is under the one roof, under the one director-general," Mr Debnam said. "Families are dealing with so many different agencies, and departments they can't get a straight answer on any concern."

His plan was criticised by the Council of Social Service of NSW and the Government, which said it would threaten services to the most vulnerable. "These are lean departments, with the overwhelming majority of workers comprising front-line staff who have direct contact with families," said the Minister for Disability Services, John Della Bosca.

If support staff were axed, front-line staff such as psychologists and aged-care workers would be diverted from their core duties, he added.

But Mr Debnam said the former Victorian Liberal premier Jeff Kennett conducted a similar streamlining of departments 15 years ago. This had largely been kept in place by Mr Kennett's Labor successor, Steve Bracks.

Flanked by preschool teachers and children, Mr Debnam also announced the Coalition would introduce an annual "family report card" to independently assess whether its policies were family-friendly.

The report would be issued by an arms-length body of family representatives, working with the auditor-general during each year's budget process.

"The Government has produced so-called report cards, which they claim are legitimate assessments of their work. Well, they're not. I mean, they're produced by fat cats within the system," Mr Debnam said.

The proposal is similar to that of Family First, which advocates separate family impact statements for each piece of legislation.