Queensland Opposition Calls for Answers Over Child Safety Deaths

Queensland's opposition has demanded answers from the government after a report revealed a significant rise in the number of children known to child safety who have died. The Queensland Family and Child Commission's annual report shows 452 children died in the last financial year, with 91 of those children known to the child protection system.

This represents an increase of 59.6 per cent on the previous year, when 57 children known to child safety died. Labor's Shannon Fentiman said the report was concerning, disturbing and heartbreaking.

"Where is the premier? Why isn't he taking accountability?" she said. "Where is he today fronting up the mess that is the child safety system?"

In a speech to parliament in 2021, the opposition leader called on the government to "show us what leadership looks like" and to "front up to the messes you have created".

"Do not do a Friday afternoon dump when no-one is looking," he said.

Labor leader Steven Miles took aim at the government's move to table more than 100 annual reports before and across the weekend of the AFL grand final.

"There is no Friday with less people looking than last Friday and that is when David Crisafulli decided to dump all of these reports," he said. "He should stand up today and explain."

When asked, the government's office did not respond directly to Labor's calls for the opposition leader to front the media.

"Steven Miles will do, and say, anything to try and hold onto his leadership given media reports today that his own frontbench, backbench, union leaders, strategists, former ministers and their staff, want him gone by Christmas," a government spokesperson said.

Police Minister Dan Purdie said he acknowledged the death of any child.

"We are doing more than Labor did in a long time in relation to child safety, whether it's the Commission of Inquiry, the work that we are doing, but we know there is always more work to do like there is with crime," he said.

Imogen Edeson, chief executive of CREATE Foundation, said the increase was "sobering and deeply concerning".

"Every child who comes into contact with child safety should actually be safer as a result of that identification and intervention," she said. "I think it is a wake-up call for Queensland's system and we really need to learn from these tragic losses."

Ms Edeson said any opportunity to investigate what might prevent similar tragedies in the future should be considered.

"Nothing is more important than the safety and well-being of our children so it should be of paramount concern and should be elevated in public discourse and debate," she said.