The NSW minister responsible for child protection visited Ballina on Wednesday to officially open a new community services office, but declined to answer questions about whether staffing in the town has been reduced.

Kate Washington opened the Department of Communities and Justice Community Service Centre on River Street.

Local MPs Janelle Saffin and Tamara Smith attended the event, which featured a smoking ceremony, speeches and morning tea.

But when it came time for questions, the minister repeatedly declined to explain what had happened to staff previously based in a much larger government office nearby.

Ballina News Daily asked what had become of the workforce previously located in the large council-owned Department of Communities and Justice office on Tamar Street.

The minister was asked whether the new office represented a relocation of staff, an expansion of services or a reduction in numbers.

Instead she spoke broadly about supporting child protection workers and vulnerable families.

When pressed for actual staffing numbers, she said that was “a question to ask the department”.

Ballina News Daily continued to seek a clear answer and was then asked to leave the press conference.

Media release reveals 20 staff

After the event, the minister’s office issued a media release stating the new Ballina Community Service Centre “brings together 20 local staff” from the Department of Communities and Justice.

That includes 14 child protection caseworkers.

However the release does not explain what happened to the workforce previously based in the much larger Tamar Street office.

Ballina News Daily understands that building previously housed around 100 staff, although the minister and her staff declined to confirm those numbers when asked.

If correct, the figure in the media release would represent a significant reduction in the number of staff physically based in Ballina.

Ministers Kate Washington and Janelle Saffin take in the smoke with Ballina MP Tamara Smith

That raises questions about the level of frontline services available locally at a time when the Northern Rivers is facing growing pressure from the cost-of-living crisis, rising homelessness and the long-term social impacts of the 2022 floods.

The Department of Communities and Justice is responsible for child protection, family support and other services dealing with some of the region’s most vulnerable residents.

Questions over former Tamar Street office

Ballina Shire Council has confirmed the Department of Communities and Justice vacated the Tamar Street building late last year.

The two-storey council-owned office block was purpose-built for the department in 2008 and had been its long-term base in Ballina.

Councillors were told the lease expired late last year and the premises have remained vacant since.

Council is now preparing to advertise the building for another major tenant.

The Department’s former local headquarters on Tamar Street – vacated last year

Ratepayers are currently carrying the loss of rental income from the empty building.

The former tenancy is understood to have covered roughly 1500 square metres of office space.

By comparison, the new River Street premises opened this week cover about 500 square metres.

Outside the press conference, one of the minister’s advisers suggested the department had left the Tamar Street building because of roof leaks, but did not elaborate.

Mayor says questions are reasonable

Ballina mayor Sharon Cadwallader said the community deserved clear answers about the department’s presence in the region.

“I would think that’s a reasonable question to ask,” Cr Cadwallader said.

“That was a very large building of two floors that was vacated at the end of last year.”

She said councillors had been told many staff had been working from home before the lease ended.

“Is there a reduction in staffing levels, or is it because so many staff are working from home?” she said.

“What does that mean for Ballina Shire and the regional community?”

Demand for social services had not declined.

“In fact it’s increased for social services,” she said.

Whether the new centre represents a reduction in services, a shift to remote work, or a broader restructuring of the department’s presence in Ballina remains unclear — questions the minister was unable to answer during her visit.

COMMENT: Transparency matters when Ministers visit the regions