Tolley Anne: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Tolley Anne: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:639;Page:9682] 
10.  
ANNE TOLLEY (National—East Coast) 
 to the  
Associate Minister for Social Development and Employment (CYF) 
: Does she have confidence in Child Youth and Family; if so why? 
Hon RUTH DYSON (Associate Minister for Social Development and Employment (CYF)) 
: 
 Yes I do because unlike that member I support the difficult hard work that the department and its social workers do. 
Anne Tolley 
: How can the people of New Zealand have confidence when her department’s poor performance is the very reason Mataroa Barton a convicted teenage sex offender who yesterday pleaded guilty to evading his supervisors at a Child Youth and Family home at least eight times has been given a second chance in the community only minutes away from one of his victims? 
Hon RUTH DYSON 
: Actually the District Court on the recommendation of the Department of Corrections recommended that that young man be detained in a secure facility and I am confident that the District Court understanding all the circumstances—rather than selective provisions as that member chooses—is confident that the community is safe. 
Russell Fairbrother 
: What is the very hard-working Child Youth and Family doing to ensure the permanent placement of children and young people in the department’s care? 
Hon RUTH DYSON 
: I am pleased to inform the House that despite the best efforts of the member who asked the primary question to undermine the good work undertaken by Child Youth and Family— 
Madam SPEAKER 
: Will the Minister just address the question. 
Hon RUTH DYSON 
: —it does have a robust permanency policy in place and that is indicated by the fact that there has been a continuing trend downwards in the number of children particularly those under 3 years of age who remain in the care of the department. 
Chris Tremain 
: Does the Minister think it is fair that a young woman and her daughter should have to consider vacating their home because they are frightened that Mataroa Barton has been placed by Child Youth and Family back into their community within walking distance of their home; and does the Minister not think that the rights of victims should come before those of criminals? 
Hon RUTH DYSON 
: I want to make two points in relation to that question. The first is that the District Court made the decision not Child Youth and Family. The second point is that if that member of Parliament were serious about the security of his constituent he may have thought twice about publishing her address on a publicly available website. That member put her address in the public domain. In my view that is a serious threat and he should have reconsidered that action. 
Chris Tremain 
: What assurances can the Minister give this Napier mother and daughter and the wider Napier community that they are 100 percent safe from Mataroa Barton and that he will not escape his supervisors given that he did escape at least eight times when he was under Child Youth and Family care in the community recently? 
Hon RUTH DYSON 
: I am confident that the process the District Court undertook gave it confidence that both the community and that young man would be safe. I invite the member to consider what the District Court process was and to stop implying that Child Youth and Family made this decision. It is nonsense.