More than two years after
serious concerns about decades of failure by the Public Trustee were raised,
Attorney-General Elise Archer has finally indicated she plans to address them.
While it is encouraging Ms
Archer has given in principle support to the recommendations of the Bugg
Review, a huge workload remains to deliver the much-needed change that is
required after she was presented with significant evidence the organisation has
a history of badly letting Tasmanians down.
It’s now been six months since
Damian Bugg QC delivered his independent report
into the Public Trustee which was in response to serious concerns raised by the
community and clients around how their cases were dealt.
That review confirmed that for
more than two decades the Public Trustee fundamentally misunderstood their role
and has been drastically failing vulnerable Tasmanians as the administrator of
their affairs.
Now that Ms Archer has
delivered a government response on the review she needs to show if she is
serious about delivering results. The Minister must consult widely with people
who have been affected.
The voices of people who have
suffered in the system must be front and centre in implementing the much needed
change so that the terrible practices of the past are never allowed to continue
Labor has been highlighting the failures of the Public Trustee for two years and Ms Archer has had more than enough time to not just deliver her response to the independent review but to bring real and meaningful change.
Ella Haddad MP
Shadow Attorney-General
