Tolley Anne: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Tolley Anne: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:640;Page:10333] 
11.  
ANNE TOLLEY (National—East Coast) 
 to the  
Associate Minister for Social Development and Employment (CYF) 
: Does she stand by her statement in the House on 8 May 2007 that “I have confidence in Child Youth and Family’s approval process and selection procedure for the caregivers of young people who are in the youth justice system”; if so why? 
Hon RUTH DYSON (Associate Minister for Social Development and Employment (CYF)) 
: 
 Yes. I also have confidence in the procedure for caregivers and other support workers for young people who are not in the youth justice system. That includes the young man incorrectly described by both the  
Dominion Post  
and Anne Tolley as being under 24-hour-a-day 7-day-a-week supervision ordered by the court. Those allegations which are liable to cause distress in the community are untrue. 
Anne Tolley 
: How is it possible that yet another teenage sexual predator on 24-hour-a-day supervision from Child Youth and Family is escaping from his minders and playing with neighbourhood children and the authorities say they are powerless to control him? 
Hon RUTH DYSON 
: For the record and for that member’s benefit although the information may have been more useful to her prior to her putting out her incorrect press statement I say he is not in the youth justice system he is not in the adult justice system he is not in the custody of Child Youth and Family he has no court-imposed supervision order or any other supervision order he is not required to be under supervision by anyone and there are no conditions imposed by anyone a court or otherwise on any of his movements. Therefore by definition he cannot escape or get out. He is not required to be under supervision. He is not required to live anywhere. He is a free person. 
Anne Tolley 
: Can the Minister confirm the reports received by my office and communicated to Child Youth and Family and to the Minister that a Child Youth and Family worker introduced this teenage sex offender to other local children in the department’s care? 
Hon RUTH DYSON 
: That is not the allegation that the member made to me. I just repeat that this man is not under any supervision. He is completely free as every member in this House is and he is entitled to meet anyone he likes. There is no supervision requirement at all on this man—not a single requirement. 
Anne Tolley 
: How can the Minister stand in this House day after day wringing her hands and saying that this sort of thing is unacceptable; and how many failures of the Child Youth and Family system and cases of young offenders being out on the loose will it take before the Minister will admit there is a systemic failure in youth justice at Child Youth and Family? 
Hon RUTH DYSON 
: I would like to make two points in response to the member’s question. The first is that people in the youth justice system are generally not those who have recently graduated as dux from their local secondary school. They are not generally young people who come from a strong supportive functional family. They are more often than not young people who have lived in violent abusive dysfunctional families for their entire lives which contributes to the likelihood of their being in the youth justice system and they are frankly not easy to contain. In my view on the occasions that they are at large we should look at two things. First of all was the supervision correct? If it was not then I say to this House that that is unacceptable. Second where it was correct then I think that the caregivers should be supported. The member mentioned I had said that things were unacceptable. What I find unacceptable and morally reprehensible is that member misleading the public by saying incorrect things that are likely to cause distress to and a vigilante response from people in the Porirua community. That is unacceptable. 
Anne Tolley 
: When will the Minister publicly release the Child Youth and Family report into the Wairaka Kokiri Trust which lost one of its young offenders and did not report him missing for 3 months in 2005 as she said she would in this House on Tuesday? 
Hon RUTH DYSON 
: When I get it.