March 6 2017 The grandmother of the two boys involved in the tragedy at Moama has released a statement calling for an external review of the agencies she believes let her and her family down significantly. We confirm that we act on behalf of the grandmother of the two young boys recently taken from her home in Deniliquin. We note the Premier of NSW Gladys Berejiklian has asked for all of the agencies to give urgent reports about what they knew and that she wanted to “make sure that we get to the bottom of this”. We are instructed that such an external review by the Premier of the agencies involved would be appreciated since the formal response from the Department of Corrective Services has provided little comfort to family that an internal review would be transparent or thorough. Public disclaimer statements have already been made by the Department of Corrections and they sadly only confirm a pattern by them of washing their hands of any responsibility. The important question to consider isn’t only what the agencies knew but whether there were vital warning signs missed by them regarding the risks to the children and the manner in which the agencies dealt with our client following discharge. We call on the Premier to conduct a far-ranging review of the agencies since the only positive that might come from the tragic events of the last few days is the prospect that it might not happen again. We suggest that a review would need to have a review of how the agencies interact themselves and include such issues as the treatment and rehabilitation provided to the alleged offender while she was in jail for an extended period and what (if any) assessment was made of the risks to herself or family members at the time of her discharge. We advise that the Department of Corrections did not communicate with our client to seek her approval for the daughter to live with her and no genuine efforts were made by the department to find alternative accommodation in another community that might have protected the children. We note the procedures for discharge involved consideration of living arrangements of the offender and steps should have been taken to ensure that the alleged offender did not return to our client’s home or the local community. Our client’s repeated attempts to get the daughter moved to another property were met with what they considered to be apathy or uncaring response from other agencies. The case also throws up serious cross jurisdictional issues with the police and department of Family and Community Services in NSW. Both agencies refused to assist our client in circumstances where the children were taken across the border into Victoria. The Police in NSW did little to help our client when she called for help and it’s not clear whether any alert was made to Victoria police in a timely manner. Our clients have again requested privacy as they remain in Melbourne with their elder grandchild who remains in a stable condition and making progress. The family has expressed their gratitude to the public and to the community of Deniliquin for all of the messages of support.