Like all Queenslanders, I am deeply concerned by allegations published today regarding Tiahleigh Palmer’s carer Rick Thorburn.
If these claims are substantiated, they raise serious questions about the role of the Child Safety Department and what they knew about Tiahleigh’s foster carers before she was placed in the Thorburn house.
It also raises grave concerns around other children in care who may be in significant danger right now.
There was a $1 million investigation into the disappearance of Tiahleigh – but how far did this investigation go?
Queenslanders deserve to know what questions were asked by Child Safety, what they found out and what they did about it.
These questions fall at the feet of Labor’s Child Safety Minister Shannon Fentiman, whose inaction and incompetence have allowed our child protection system to spiral into crisis.
We need assurances from Shannon Fentiman that these serious questions are being answered and that the system will be strengthened because of it.
If the Minister isn’t prepared to demand these answers, she must stand aside for someone who is.