Safety rulings debacle

CONVICTED drug addicts, deadly drivers and child bashers are being handed Blue Cards, despite Queensland justice officials deeming them too risky to work with children.

The Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal has overturned one in every four Blue Card bans in the past six years.

In the past 12 months, QCAT granted Blue Cards to 24 people the Department of Justice had rejected as a potential risk to children.

They included a teenage tutor who killed another driver in a failed suicide attempt, and a worker who stole $95,000 from a children’s charity.

A former ice addict was granted a Blue Card, despite Justice Department concerns about his “recent drug history.

A woman who had a drug lab in her backyard, along with two mothers charged with assaulting their own children, were given Blue Cards.

Bravehearts founder Hetty Johnston yesterday said people with other kinds of criminal records should also be ineligible to be issued with Blue Cards.

“The law isn’t strict enough, and it’s too easy to get a Blue Card,’’ she said.

A State Government review last year recommended 81 changes to approvals for working with children, including a ban on Blue Cards for a broader range of crimes.

A Blue Card Services spokeswoman yesterday said QCAT appeals “provide natural justice’’. and frequent’’