Queensland parliament updates: MPs return to round-out first half of term

Child Safety Minister Amanda Camm has given an update on the number of kids in residential care, claiming a small win during her return to parliament after medical leave.After earlier holding a brief media conference with Attorney-General Deb Frecklington, Camm told parliament there were now 2804 children in residential care across the state.Child Safety Minister Amanda Camm has faced budget estimates questions on Thursday.Courtney KrukThis was, she said, a slight reduction from the figure of 2819 in the March quarter, marking the first time this had “stabilised” in a decade.While Camm sought to blame the former Labor government for overseeing year-on-year increases, she did not mention the number had continued to rise under her government.She said it showed the LNP’s reforms to the sector were “starting to see benefits”, with 722 children also in kinship and foster care – nearly double that of the last years of Labor.“The Crisafulli government is, more than ever, focused on moving more children away from residential care providers, and into family-based, loving homes,” Camm said.Across a series of other ministerial statements to open proceedings for the day, Premier David Crisafulli and others thanked the federal government for backing away from proposed changes to the split of disaster funding.Disaster Recovery Minister Ann Leahy said she had sent an open letter to the Albanese government last week signed by every mayor in the state, and other stakeholders.“Last Friday, the federal government heeded the concerns that we had outlined,” Leahy said, while noting there was still other detail the state wanted to see around betterment projects.