Page 3523 - Week 10 - Tuesday, 12 September 2017
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about their child’s safety and wellbeing and keeping Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children connected to their family, community, culture and country.
In that context I note that we will not simply wait for the review to be finalised to take action to improve outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. Already, under a step up for our kids, we are providing more intensive and culturally proficient early intervention support through the children and families program delivered by Uniting, with the support of their Aboriginal services and development unit, Jaanimili.
I also recently announced a pilot of family group conferencing run by independent Aboriginal staff to empower Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families to make decisions about how they can address the challenges they face and keep their children safe at home. Wherever possible, we want these decisions to be made by families, not courts. We know we have a long way to go, but we are determined to pilot this evidence-based approach and evaluate its effectiveness for local families, in partnership with the local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community.
Yesterday, on behalf of the ACT government, I signed the family matters statement of commitment. Family matters, established by SNAICC, is a national campaign to ensure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people grow up safe and cared for in family, community and culture.
Today also marks commencement of the SNAICC 2017 conference, to be held here in the ACT. The conference will focus on assisting SNAICC with the vision of an Australian society in which Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities are empowered to determine their own future; where the rights of their children, young people and families are protected; where cultural identity and achievements are valued; and where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families have access to culturally appropriate services.
The ACT government is standing with SNAICC, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous organisations, state and federal members of parliament and state and territory commissioners and guardians in support of reducing the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people in out of home care. Together we can make a difference.
As the independent review of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people and the family group conferencing pilot proceed, lessons will continue to inform decisions about the circumstances of individual children and their families through the prism of the child placement principle, making real and practical differences for these families and children.
Consistent with our commitment to authentic partnerships, the review process will be co-designed with identified Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander stakeholders and other key Indigenous organisations. The process will be overseen by a steering committee of representatives of the local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community and national Aboriginal organisations with specialist knowledge in this area.
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