Child welfare, witches and blood
Moral outrage accompanied by calls from the federal Opposition for a government inqury is yet another example of what is a depressingly familiar ritual to those of us who have worked in the field of children's services.
It goes like this: child found dead or horrifically abused; media reports it with a mixture of indignation and incredulity; opposition pollie seizes the opportunity to intensify the indignation and accuse relevant minister of incompetence and neglect; relevant minister responds with own indignation and calls government inquiry; inquiry hears evidence for months, finds systemic failure and incompetence, and makes numerous shallow recommendations; relevant minister pledges radical change and shouts at a few high-level bureaucrats; dust finally settles and everything goes back to normal.
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