PARLIAMENT OF TASMANIA TRANSCRIPT LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ESTIMATES COMMITTEE A Hon. Roger Jaensch MP Thursday 26 November 2020 MEMBERS Hon Ruth Forrest MLC (Chair) Hon Mike Gaffney MLC (Deputy Chair) Hon Sarah Lovell MLC Hon Dr Bastian Seidel MLC Hon Rob Valentine MLC Hon Meg Webb MLC WITNESSES IN ATTENDANCE Hon. Roger Jaensch MP, Minister for Housing; Minister for Environment and Parks; Minister for Human Services; Minister for Aboriginal Affairs; Minister for Planning Michael Pervan, Secretary, Department of Communities Tasmania Ms Mandy Clarke, Deputy Secretary, Children and Youth Services, Department of Communities Tasmania Ms Pamela Honan, Director - Youth and Family Violence Services, Department of Communities Tasmania Claire Lovell, Director, Children and Families, Children, Department of Communities Tasmania Mr Rod Fazackerly, Principal Finance Officer, Department of Communities Tasmania. Ms Ingrid Ganley, Director, Disability and Community Services, Department of Communities Tasmania Mr Peter White, Deputy Secretary, Housing, Disability and Community Services, Department of Communities Tasmania Ms Jessemy Stone, Director, Housing Programs, Department of Communities Tasmania Mr Tim Baker, Secretary, Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and the Environment Ms Louise Wilson, Deputy Secretary, Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and the Environment Mr Wes Ford, Deputy Secretary, Environment Protection Authority, Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and the Environment Mr Andrew Crane, Manager Policy Advice and Regulatory Services, Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and the Environment Mr Jason Jacobi, Deputy Secretary, Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and the Environment Ms Ginna Webster, Secretary, Department of Justice Mr Nick Evans, Deputy Secretary, Regulation and Service Delivery, Department of Justice Mr Brian Risby, Director, Planning Policy Unit, Department of Justice Mr Jarrod Bryan, Registrar, Resource Management and Planning Appeals Tribunal Ms Sandra Hogue, Acting Executive Commissioner, Tasmanian Planning Commission Mr Steve Gall, Director, Aboriginal Heritage Tasmania, Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and the Environment The Committee met at 9 a.m. DIVISION 2 (Department of Communities Tasmania) CHAIR -Thanks, minister, and welcome to the Estimates Committee hearings for the last day of this year. I invite you to introduce the other members of your team at the table and the others you bring forward during the hearings, and if you wish to make a brief opening statement. We will on our side endeavour to be very brief in our questions and we would like to have brief and direct answers. Mr JAENSCH - I would like to introduce at the table to my right, Professor Mike Pervan, Secretary of the Department of Communities Tasmania; and Mandy Clarke, Deputy Secretary of Children and Youth Services. I also acknowledge up-front the Tasmanian Aboriginal people, the original owners and continuing Custodians of the land we are meeting on today, and pay my respects to Elders past, present and emerging. If I can make just a brief opening overview. I am sure this has been the opening line for all of the presentations. It has been a very challenging year for our community, our state and our people, particularly those who are already vulnerable and facing challenges of their own. I have been very pleased to be part of a government that has put extra resources into a range of Human Services, both for those members of the community who are under our direct care, and those who may need it as a safety net. As a direct part of our COVID-19 response, we are putting $2.1 million over the next two years into child safety initiatives . While we are doing this, we are also continuing our longer term reform and redesign activities around child safety as well. I am sure we will be able to discuss many of those during these discussions. We also have continued to invest in increased costs of out-of-home care, with a $55 million contribution in this Budget. This will include, as a very small proportion of that investment, development of a therapeutic residential On Country program, which we have been committed to for a year now, but particular attention was drawn to that in the context of the recent review of the Many Colours One Direction program in the Northern Territory. We have also included in this Budget $200 000 to develop and enhance our support for the informal kinship carer community around Tasmania as well. We are piloting some extra supports for them, and that will inform some longer term arrangements we hope to be able to put in place. We have also provided $513 000 to increase the capacity to respond to young people under 16 years old who are turning up unaccompanied at shelters and at crisis services, which have not been in the past well-equipped to deal with their needs. A task force is responding to their needs, and we have provided some immediate resources to take first steps. The Budget also includes $1.8 million for a dedicated specialised child and adolescent mental health service for children in out-of-home care - and more broadly across the Human Services sector, we have invested more, and asked more, of our network of community service partners - TasCOSS, the Neighbourhood Houses, [inaudible], COTA and those who work with Legislative Council Estimates Committee A 1 Thursday 26 November 2020 - Jaensch people affected by family and sexual violence. I really want to take the opportunity to thank them for stepping up, and for their remarkable work, this year in particular, to assist people. I am sure their extra efforts have saved lives during this very difficult year. We have extended funding to a number of those organisations to give them certainty in line with PESRAC's recommendation number 12. We have increased that core funding to ERO, and indexation is also delivered in the Budget so that the community service sector has a strong footing going forward. I thank them, and I thank my departments and our network of community service organisations for pulling together so well this year. I'm proud of the work they have done. Thank you. Output Group 1 Children Services 1.1 Children Services - CHAIR - I will invite Meg to open the questions, including the overview, if you like. Ms WEBB - Minister, you mentioned the PESRAC interim recommendations. In the Budget Papers there's a table that shows lead agencies, but it doesn't indicate anything about what has already been completed, what's in train, if it's funded in this Budget and, if so, where, for example, or within what existing resources. I note that eight have been allocated to the Department of Communities Tasmania. As an overview, perhaps you could give us an indication of which of these eight might relate to the Human Services portfolio, and whether you consider them to be finalised, ongoing or yet to get underway. Can you please quantify or point to Budget allocations that they relate to?. Mr JAENSCH - Because I don't have a brief organised by PESRAC recommendations, I would be happy to provide to the committee a summary of action taken against the relevant PESRAC recommendations from our agency. Ms WEBB - And any interrelation to the Budget Papers? Mr JAENSCH - Yes, where there is a link to the Budget Papers, I think we can do that, unless Mike has - in fact, here it is. Ms WEBB - Is it something you would like to table, because it's probably quite detailed? Mr JAENSCH - It is quite detailed, but I've got references to - CHAIR - Let's get started. Mr JAENSCH - Can we go through the top of these? Ms WEBB - Yes. Legislative Council Estimates Committee A 2 Thursday 26 November 2020 - Jaensch Mr JAENSCH - Okay. Recommendation 33, regarding Volunteering Tasmania, was- The State Government should engage with Volunteering Tasmania to develop support measures to enable organisations to retain and attract Volunteering Tasmania has provided a vital service, and through the response, under the stimulus and support measures package announced by the Premier, Volunteering Tasmania received $130 000 in funding to rapidly deploy volunteers to assist in the response and recovery efforts. During that time, Volunteering Tasmania has had more than a 100 per cent increase in volunteers registering to support the community. Recommendations 57 and 58, emergency food relief, and recommendation 62, food security. The Government has invested approximately $800 000 in additional funding for emergency food relief in response to COVID-19. Our major emergency food relief distributors have delivered tens of thousands of hampers, meals, and over 1 million kilograms of fresh and staple items around the state. Recommendations 57 and 58 suggest that the Government carefully monitor and plan funding for emergency food relief to ensure Tasmanians in need can access help. Prior to the pandemic, the Government was already working on long-term planning to support food security for vulnerable Tasmanians to better understand the demand for emergency food relief in our community and inform our decisions into the future. The importance of this work was reaffirmed by PESRAC's recommendation. CHAIR - Number 44 was one I don't think you've touched on. Mr JAENSCH - Sorry. There was additional funding for emergency food relief providers as well - 144 000 for Hamlet to provide 1200 meals per month to the Safe Night Space in Hobart; $100 000 for Foodbank Tasmania; and $156 000 for Loaves and Fishes to ensure distribution of emergency food relief around the state. PESRAC's recommendation 62, that we consider school and community-based models of food security: the Government is already funding a number of programs in schools to build nutritional literacy of our young people, including through the Tasmanian School Canteen Association, and we will continue to work across government to strengthen food security.