Judith Collins MP
National Party Welfare Spokeswoman

2 September 2005

Dyson must take responsibility for CYF failings

National Party Welfare spokeswoman Judith Collins says Ruth Dyson must take responsibility for the latest in a string of problems with CYF and resign.

She is commenting on reports that CYF took four months to tell a Hawke’s Bay mother about claims her seven-year-old daughter had been raped.

“Parents deserve to be kept informed about what is happening to their children. Even when a parent has drug problems, that doesn’t stop her from being a parent. She had a right to know,” says Ms Collins.

“Having a drug addiction doesn’t mean that a parent shouldn’t at the very least be informed about allegations her child has been abused.

“It is not enough that CYF has apologised to the mother. The Minister in charge should take responsibility for this latest stuff-up and resign.

“Ruth Dyson is out of touch with parenting and out of touch with what CYF is doing. She is ignoring the problem by insisting that CYF is moving to a culture of ‘performance excellence’. After these latest reports, that is a farce,” says Ms Collins.

ENDS

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