Page 1813 - Week 05 - Thursday, 16 May 2019
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(2) also notes that:
(a) a 2018 Court of Appeal decision, reported in The Canberra Times on 17 February 2019, set aside previous Children’s Court and Supreme Court decisions in relation to the children’s need for care and protection; and
(b) a number of prominent Canberrans, including legal practitioners, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community leaders, and a former ACT Chief Minister, have publicly called for an inquiry into this matter;
(3) refers the following matters to the Standing Committee on Health, Ageing and Community Services:
(a) analysis of the case referred to in (2)(a) to identify potential systemic issues that may need to be addressed, and report to the Assembly no later than March 2020; and
(b) inquiry into the ability to share information in the care and protection system in accordance with the Children and Young People Act 2008, with a view to providing the maximum transparency and accountability so as to maintain community confidence in the ACT’s care and protection system, and report to the Assembly on a date to be determined by the Committee, but no later than July 2020; and
(4) requests the Committee to observe the following in relation to the inquiries established at (3):
(a) that the Committee take evidence and hold documents in ways that will not allow for individual people to be identified without their express consent; and
(b) to the extent that people providing or hearing evidence related to the inquiries are traumatised, that appropriate supports are referred or provided.
I am grateful for the opportunity to bring this very important motion before the Assembly today. In doing so, I want to acknowledge the contributions of Ms Le Couteur and Minister Stephen-Smith. I thank them for their input and for their willingness to work with me on this very serious matter. As a consequence of our ability to work together, I have circulated an amended motion.
Exactly two years ago I brought a motion before this Assembly raising concerns about the lack of external review for child protection decisions in the ACT. That motion was informed by Cheryl Vardon’s 2004 report entitled The territory as parent: review of the safety of children in care in the ACT and of ACT child protection management, often called the Vardon report, and Laurie Glanfield’s 2016 Report of the inquiry: review into the system level responses to family violence in the ACT, frequently referred to as the Glanfield inquiry.
The Vardon report notes the lack of external scrutiny for many decisions made within the territory’s care and protection system, including matters such as placement decisions and care plans. It also notes that many submissions from parents, carers and agencies have highlighted the absence of an independent grievance structure.
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