Struthers shies away from responsibility

Community Services Minister Karen Struthers has joined the conga line of Bligh government ministers refusing to take responsibility for their departments, the State Opposition said today.

“Put under pressure in Parliament this morning Ms Struthers again refused to take responsibility for wrongly dobbing in 316 Queensland charities to Federal Labor, potentially exposing them to the risk of closure,” Shadow Minister for Community Services Fiona Simpson said.

The Federal Government withdrew the Fair Work regulation, which would have forced the non-Government organisations to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars of backpay, due to concerns over the “accuracy of the list” provided by the Queensland government.

“This major bungle could have resulted in half a billion dollars of retrospective pay obligations and dramatic cuts to community services across a range of areas from child safety to homelessness, domestic violence to disability,” Ms Simpson said.

Ms Struthers’ list endangered the viability of hundreds of community care organisations, but today she has arrogantly revealed she simply does not care.

“Ms Struthers’ failure to take Ministerial responsibility or apologise for the trauma and anxiety she has caused to Queensland’s community sector was breathtaking.

“She is supposed to work with these organisations to improve services for people in need – instead she nearly closed them down.”

Ms Simpson said an LNP Government will work with all organisations to cut red tape and achieve a fair outcome for all groups, employees and service users.