Page 3565 - Week 10 - Wednesday, 18 September 2019
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That does not mean that I am saying that we should not consult with them with regard to the current review; we should. But there is no point in engaging with and including children and young people in this particular review unless there is a demonstrated commitment to listen, understand and act upon the advice provided. We must not consult with them simply so that we can say we have consulted with them. It has to be meaningful and it has to bring about improvements and change to the system.
I have also heard from stakeholders that previously there have been times when recommendations made about improving care and protection systems and responses have either not been made at all or have not been done properly. But I have faith that this minister will ensure that the system is improved, especially with regard to the ability to review decisions made about where and how children at risk of abuse and neglect are living and how they are cared for.
That, after all, is at the centre of this motion. The importance of embedding a culture of listening to the voices of children and young people is vital and central to any decisions that are made in the care and protection system. This includes initial decisions being made about where they will live, who they will live with, where they will go to school, and how much contact they may have with their birth parents. Children and young people should be included in declared care team discussions about their lives. These discussions need to occur in contexts that suit the child or young person.
The declared care team should ensure that, for example, the location of the meeting is not intimidating for a young person. It should engage with them, and seek them out in an environment where they are comfortable. I am not entirely convinced that this is happening as a rule but if it were, as it should be, if the voice of the child or young person at the centre of the matter is not just heard but listened to, the need to externally review decisions in and of itself should be reduced.
This is particularly the case where care and protection orders are made for children who are Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders, or where they are made for children of parents with disability. There are guiding principles that child and youth protection services must follow in making decisions about placements of young Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders. Now that the government has committed to using the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander placement principles, including the use of meaningful cultural plans, we can hope to see an improvement in the provision of the right supports in the right way, and at the right time.
Furthermore, orders, particularly long-term ones, should be reassessed when circumstances change, for example, where parents have been successfully parenting other children, when they have managed to cease their drug use, when they have their mental health issues under control, or indeed when they are no longer living with violence. Importantly, such orders must be reassessed if the young people themselves are seeking re-evaluation of their circumstances.
We can see how tragic the outcomes can be when the voice of a child or young person is not heard, as is being revealed in the Coroner’s Court at present with the tragic and
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