Jacquie Petrusma

Dear Editor,

The Tasmanian Liberals' calls for the resignation of the Minister for Children Lin Thorp are justified and warranted.

There has been some comment that Ms Thorp "inherited" the problems in the child protection system. This is patently false. Ms Thorp has been the Minister responsible for child protection for two years, which means she was the Minister at the time the tragic case of a 12 year old girl being prostituted was unfolding.

Ms Thorp has admitted there are systemic failures within her Department and the system her Government presides over. Under our Westminster system of government she as Minister is ultimately accountable for the failings of her Department. She must accept that accountability and resign. If she doesn't, David Bartlett must do the right thing and sack her.

We need someone to fix our child protection system. One thing is for sure - the person who was in charge of child protection when this terrible case occurred should not be the person charged with trying to fix it.

Yours sincerely,

Jacquie Petrusma

Shadow Minister for Children