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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 02 Hansard (Wednesday, 3 March 2004) . . Page.. 611 ..

allow the commission to work effectively”. My colleague, and standing committee member, Mr Greg Cornwell, outlined in his “differing view” statement in the final report that he believed such a commission “could threaten the parental rights and responsibilities of the vast majority of ACT families whose children do not come to the attention of any local authority”.

Indeed, to back that up, in a paper she presented to a state election social policy themes conference, Coleen Clare, the CEO of the Children’s Welfare Association of Victoria, said:

There appears to be a strong belief that the state and the community should not intervene too much, or at least not intervene until things have obviously gone wrong.

William Doherty, President of the National Council of Family Relations and Professor of Family Social Sciences at the University of Minnesota, argues that:

the principal momentum for competent parenting must come, not from a top down state or federal initiative, but rather from diverse families working together in powerful, but non-partisan ways. What is needed is a public, grass roots movement generated and sustained by parents themselves to make family life a priority.

I have a more recent quote from the Chief Justice of the Family Court, Alistair Nicholson, who has argued that Victoria needs to establish an independent commission for children. Indeed, while Alistair Nicholson states that children need a powerful champion, many would argue that children already have one. They are called parents. This is, of course, all well and good if legislators are placing families at the centre of planning and policy. Mr Speaker, I currently think we have a long way to go in this regard.

Coleen Clare went on to say:

It is not only our leaders and politicians that need to place families in a central position. All of us in our families, work and communities need to commit to more supportive ways of living our lives wherein we take responsibility for ensuring that what we do enriches our community and the broader community. We are all players in the journey of living together in families and communities and in raising children.

I strongly believe that government policy, more than ever before, must focus upon delivering early intervention and support to children through their families, through that unit, not apart from their families or that unit.

A commissioner for the family, as opposed to an independent commissioner for children and young people, would ensure that the child’s rights, responsibilities and obligations are considered but not in isolation from the family unit and the parents’ or guardians’ rights, responsibilities and obligations.

Mr Speaker, I have to say I was particularly heartened to hear that the chair of the Select Committee for Health in the New Zealand parliament, Steve Chadwick, a Labor member for Rotorua, shares my view. I was able to talk with him over lunch and he, too, is of the mind that a commissioner for the family is a good idea and is certainly worthy of

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