Page 2628 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 21 September 2022
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This bill serves an important function in ensuring that our freedom of information regime will be effective and sustainable into the future. It will reduce the increased administrative burden associated with the new Freedom of Information Act 2016 and avoid government agencies spending time and resources in ways which do not assist applicants or serve the public interest. It does this while carefully preserving the pro-disclosure approach of the FOI Act and the high level of accountability and transparency that the act provides. I commend the bill to the Assembly.
Debate (on motion by Mr Cain) adjourned to the next sitting.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People Commissioner Bill 2022
Ms Cheyne, pursuant to notice, presented the bill, its explanatory statement and a Human Rights Act compatibility statement.
Title read by Clerk.
MS CHEYNE (Ginninderra—Assistant Minister for Economic Development, Minister for the Arts, Minister for Business and Better Regulation, Minister for Human Rights and Minister for Multicultural Affairs) (11.37): I move:
That this bill be agreed to in principle.
I am pleased to present the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People Commissioner Bill 2022. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People Commissioner will be established as an independent statutory authority with a broad mandate to promote the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people through both individual and systemic advocacy functions.
This bill marks an important milestone in the government’s commitment to implementing the Our Booris, Our Way review recommendations. As the Our Booris, Our Way Steering Committee stated:
This report demands change. It is a compelling and detailed analysis of the circumstances of our children and what needs to change to reflect the contemporary nature of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families and culture.
As part of that fundamental change, the review recommended the establishment of an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children’s commissioner. This recommendation was for a commissioner with a broad mandate, carrying review and advocacy roles, and the capacity to specifically intervene and engage in child protection processes.
The Protection of Rights Services Review completed in 2021 further considered this recommendation. That review found that a new commissioner would complement existing statutory oversight roles. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community’s voice, self-determination and cultural safety have been at the heart of this entire process.
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