Katherine Rich MP National Party Welfare Spokeswoman
03 November 2003
CYF crisis deepens after resignation
"It's hard to imagine how things could get any worse for the Department of Child Youth and Family after the sudden
resignation of its chief executive Jackie Pivac," says National Party Welfare spokeswoman Katherine Rich.
"Ms Pivac has been forced to become the sacrificial lamb after Ruth Dyson refused to express confidence in the job she
was doing."
The high profile departure comes less than a fortnight after the damning baseline review at CYF, which pinpointed such
basic faults such as not knowing how many children are in its care.
"Ms Pivac has become the latest Government scapegoat for a Department that is in crisis," says Mrs Rich.
"She will be a circuit breaker that will allow Ruth Dyson to divert the nation's attention from the real issues
affecting CYF - issues that the Labour Government promised to address.
"What's been clear from the outset is that throwing more money at the Department will not cure the deep seated culture
that starts at the top," Mrs Rich says.
"Steve Maharey's been taken off the case after failing to make any difference to the Department, now the Government has
found someone else to blame. "The National Party hopes that Ms Pivac's resignation will provide an opportunity for the
Government to make desperately needed changes to the culture at CYF.
"But after four years of inaction under Labour, any changes will come too late for too many of our children," says Mrs
Rich.
Ends