NSW: DoCS inquiry to stage public hearings within fortnight=2

AAP General News (Australia)
12-07-2007
NSW: DoCS inquiry to stage public hearings within fortnight=2

DoCS and the NSW government have come under fire in recent months following the high-profile
death of children known to the welfare organisation.

Those deaths include that of seven-year-old Shellay Ward, who starved to death in her
Hawks Nest home, and two year-old Dean Shillingsworth, found dead in a suitcase dumped
in a western Sydney pond.

Dean's mother has been charged with his murder.

The NSW Ombudsman yesterday condemned DoCS after finding 114 children who were known
to the department had died in 2006.

Nearly 50 had their cases closed before their deaths.

Mr Wood said the commission would be primarily concerned with "management and reform issues".

"A number of individual cases and practices will obviously be examined in order to
obtain snapshots that will give us an appreciation of where the problems lie and where
there may be opportunities for reform," Justice Wood said.

"The inquiry intends to consult widely and to visit most country regions, particularly
those where problems have been seen to exist."

Mr Wood said the powers set up under the special commission of inquiry were "largely
parallel" to a royal commission.

"I will have the power to summons any person to attend and give evidence under oath
or affirmation," Justice Wood said.

"I also have the power to require agencies and individuals to produce documents or
other things to me.

"Perhaps of more relevance in the present circumstances are the protections for witnesses
conferred by the Special Commissions of Inquiry Act.

"Any witness who provides evidence to the inquiry is subject to the same protections,
as would a witness in any case tried in the Supreme Court."

If additional powers were needed, they would most likely be granted to the inquiry,
Justice Wood said.

"I am assured by the government that should I believe that additional powers under
the Special Commissions of Inquiry Act are necessary, then I should request them immediately
and that any request will be favourably considered."

Mr Wood also called for public submissions to the inquiry with a February 11 closing date.

"We do need the input of the community and of all interested agencies and to that end,
we encourage submissions."

Justice Wood said DoCS, the governments and the ombudsman had already offered their
full support and cooperation.

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KEYWORD: DOCS WOOD 2 SYDNEY

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