Editorial
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The weakness of current penalties for child neglect in NSW is an absolute outrage.
They simply must change; for the good of the children involved as well as those who are set to be sentenced on them.
Currently, NSW is the only state which doesn’t carry a jail term as punishment for child neglect cases.
The only option for magistrates is to give the perpetrator a monetary fine and send them on their way.
But more often than not, these people need an ongoing program of professional intervention and help – matters that can’t be addressed by taking a few dollars out of their pockets every week.
The woman at the centre of Wollongong’s ‘house of horrors’ case was handed a $25,000 fine after pleading guilty to two child neglect charges.
She can’t pay it – she’s living on a Newstart allowance and struggling to afford rent and bills. If she has $20 a fortnight taken out of her welfare payments, it will take her the best part of 50 years to pay off the fine.
Sentencing statistics show 34 people have been charged with child neglect under the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act in NSW in the past five years.
Of those, 24 were fined and the remainder either escaped conviction or were convicted without further penalty.
Of the 24 fined, more than half were ordered to pay $500 or less. The heftiest fine before last week’s ruling was $5,000.
But the community knows handing out big fines is not the answer in these types of cases. Even the magistrate who imposed last week’s fine knew it wasn’t the right penalty, but it was the only option he had. Why?
Because that’s all our politicians allowed him to do when they wrote the child neglect laws in this state.
Meantime, the magistrate lamented being unable to put the woman on a lengthy court bond, which would have required her to attend counselling, undertake parenting courses etc.
THAT would surely have been the better outcome for all involved – especially the children, who may have at last found themselves with a caring and nurturing mother after a few years on the ‘straight and narrow’.
So today, the Mercury says enough is enough: Fix these laws that devalue the lives and welfare of the most vulnerable in our society.
End this “State of Neglect” and increase the penalties for child neglect offences.