Delay ‘could cost children’s lives’

Press, 23 September 1987, Page 8

Delay ‘could cost children’s lives’

By

SUE LANCASTER,

welfare reporter

Any delay in passing the Children and Young Persons Bill could cost children their lives, according to the chairman of the National Advisory Committee on the Prevention of Child Abuse, Dr David Geddis. New Zealand had a record in the last few years of serious child injury and death not caused by accidents. These were partly

caused by an inadequate system of managing child abuse cases. Dr Geddis said he was delighted about the inquiry announced last evening into the death of a pre-school child in Auckland who was under the supervision of the Social Welfare Department “Such information as I have concerning the child’s death indicates that there were areas where the co-ordination

of services between disciplines seemed to be sadly lacking.” The Minister of Social Welfare, Dr Cullen, said recently that the bill needed to be rewritten in a simpler, more flexible, and more culturally sensitive form. The bill is before the Select Committee on Social Services. Dr Cullen said yesterday that he did not believe there would be any significant delay in passing the bill.