The Government will always put the needs of vulnerable children first.
There is no longer a contract between the Government and Safe Pathways for the care of children, due to concerns and allegations raised publically.
There is also no Government funding going to Safe Pathways.
The contract for the care of the majority of children in question is now with Oak Possability, a highly respected care provider in Tasmania.
In order to minimise disruption to these children Oak Possability used some of their own staff as well as retained some carers and houses previously used by Safe Pathways, as part of the transition.
This was done through a Labour hire arrangement between Oak Possability and Safe Pathways. Oak Possability advises that as part of this arrangement Safe Pathways are required to organise a staff roster, as per normal labour hire practices.
They have further advised that while initially there were 28 former Safe Pathways carers employed by Oak Possability under this arrangement, this has now been reduced to eight with other positions now staffed by Oak Possability carers.
It is important to remember that there has been no concerns raised about Safe Pathways carers themselves, the concerns raised were in relation to Safe Pathways management of the contract.
I want to be clear that it is Oak Possability who now has responsibility for these children, not Safe Pathways.
Any suggestion to the contrary is simply not true and would constitute a despicable attack on another highly respected Tasmanian care provider.
The investigation into Safe Pathways is ongoing.