Wednesday, 31 May 2023

Child protection

Matthew BACH (North-Eastern Metropolitan) (12:03): (162) My question is for the Minister for Child Protection and Family Services. Minister, in recent hearings at the Yoorrook Justice Commission the commissioner for Aboriginal children and young people said the state is a bad parent, the recommendations they make go nowhere and there is a deliberate lack of accountability. Why is this the case, Minister, at a time when the Labor government removes one in nine Indigenous babies ‍– the worst in the country?

Lizzie BLANDTHORN (Western Metropolitan – Minister for Disability, Ageing and Carers, Minister for Child Protection and Family Services) (12:03): Thank you, Dr Bach, for your question. Given the topic that we are discussing, can I also acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which we meet and pay my respects to elders past and present – an important undertaking and acknowledgement that we make every day in this place.

Can I also welcome the truth-telling process. I, the Attorney-General, the Minister for Corrections and the Minister for Police in recent weeks have all had the opportunity to meet with the Yoorrook Justice Commission and discuss these important issues. I welcome the truth-telling process that this government committed to, and I also commend the commissioners for the work that they are doing with the support of their very able counsel. It was our government that set up the Yoorrook Justice Commission because we believe in the truth-telling process and we believe in ensuring that First Peoples have the opportunity to have their story and their experiences heard but also to have those experiences acknowledged going forward in terms of the way in which government governs and the way in which this Parliament makes decisions, and I note that indeed there is a decision for this Parliament to make this week in relation to some of these matters.

As I said at the Yoorrook Justice Commission, without pre-empting some of the recommendations and the report of the Yoorrook Justice Commission – I have said it in this place as well – there is indeed an over-representation of First Peoples children in the child protection system, and that is something that has to be addressed and is something that we are addressing through a number of mechanisms, from the truth-telling process itself to the record investment that I spoke to yesterday in my ministers statement when I updated the house in relation to the government’s investment in addressing the factors influencing over-representation of Indigenous young people in the child protection and family services system.

We support this process. Both I and the department will continue to support the Yoorrook Justice Commission in the important work that it is doing to fulfil its goals of truth, of understanding and of transformation of the system in order to better represent and address the needs of Indigenous children. I do not want to specifically comment on the content of the inquiry before it has concluded, but I do welcome the work that it is doing and I look forward to its recommendations.

Matthew BACH (North-Eastern Metropolitan) (12:06): Thank you, Minister. I note the mechanisms, as you called them, that you briefly referenced in your response now and outlined in more detail yesterday, as you said. On that matter – the over-representation of Indigenous children in child protection – if the current trend continues, evidenced by the latest data from the report on government services, it will take 122 years to close the gap in Indigenous over-representation in child protection in Victoria. Regarding these mechanisms that you speak of, Minister, what will their impact be? When does the government now project the gap will be closed?

Lizzie BLANDTHORN (Western Metropolitan – Minister for Disability, Ageing and Carers, Minister for Child Protection and Family Services) (12:06): Thank you, Dr Bach, for your question on this important matter. As you suggested, the trend is not acceptable, and the trend is something which this government is seeking to address. We are seeking to address it starting with the process of truth telling through the Yoorrook Justice Commission through to the funding and investment that we outlined in the budget just last week.

There is absolutely an acknowledgement both from me and indeed from the Premier himself that work needs to happen to change that trend, and that is exactly what this government is doing by investing $140 million. The Premier and I have gone through an extensive process of consulting with Aboriginal community controlled organisations in particular and a number of stakeholders, from legal representatives through to those who are delivering child and family services directly on the ground in a more statutory sense. But we have listened to those who are involved at every stage of the process with a view to ensuring that the trend actually is reversed, that the trend goes the other way, and that this record investment of this government addresses the over-representation of Aboriginal children in care.