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Review shows failings in Mason Lee's death

Christine Flatley and Cheryl GoodenoughAAP
A review has detailed numerous systemic failures to protect Queensland toddler Mason Lee from abuse.
Camera IconA review has detailed numerous systemic failures to protect Queensland toddler Mason Lee from abuse.

Advocates say more work needs to be done to protect children from the litany of mistakes made by government officers who mishandled the case of abused Queensland toddler Mason Jet Lee.

The confidential report from the Child Death Case Review Panel, which met in December 2016 to investigate how Mason died, was finally released by the state government late on Tuesday.

It had been kept secret until all legal proceedings over the matter had been finalised.

The report identified numerous issues with how child safety officers failed to protect Mason.

Officers kept poor records, and failed to share vital information.

They failed to piece together the many child protection concerns - like physical, sexual and emotional abuse, and neglect - to consider an overall picture that may have prompted earlier removal of Mason from the home.

Mason was 22 months old when he died in June 2016 after being struck in the abdomen by his mother's boyfriend, William O'Sullivan.

O'Sullivan, and Mason's mother Anne-Maree Lee are both in prison for his manslaughter.

The report also noted systemic failures that have been found in other child death inquiries, highlighting the need for early intervention to help vulnerable families.

The Benevolent Society's Leith Sterling says the government had introduced considerable changes since the 2013 Carmody Report into child safety reform, but more work is needed to bring about a cultural shift necessary to establish a system based on shared responsibility.

"Siloed service delivery is not effective or desirable, and can lead to a breakdown in critical information-sharing, and appears to be a contributing factor in the devastating and tragic Mason Jet Lee case," Ms Sterling told AAP.

National Education Director of Act for Kids Tom McIntyre says the issues are complex, but families caught up in crisis need non-stigmatising support and community-based care.

"We've got parents who haven't learnt how to parent and potentially experienced not-good parenting, or have their own childhood and complex trauma they take into their parenting," Mr McIntyre told AAP.

"We really hope there are some serious learnings so we'll see kids getting a different and more timely response in the future when they're in the situation poor Mason found himself in."

Child Safety Minister Di Farmer accepted the system needed massive reform.

"It was a system that simply was not good enough to save Mason Jet Lee," she said on Wednesday.

Ms Farmer said 16 recommendations made in the panel's report, together with child safety and health department investigation reports, were accepted.

Additional funding and staff have been allocated to the department, and information sharing across government systems has since been legislated in Queensland.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said child safety staff were "stretched to the limit" but need to take "absolute extra care" when dealing with families.

"We know there are a lot of vulnerable families out there, but we're also seeing so many more complex cases being presented to child safety officers," Ms Palaszczuk told reporters on Wednesday.

The reports were released one week after Deputy State Coroner Jane Bentley released her inquest findings that the child safety department's handling of Mason's case was "a failure in nearly every possible way".

The public service commissioner is conducting a review following the release of the inquest's findings.

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