2018-05-22
Lidia Thorpe - Speech in Parliament My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Families and Children in the other place, and the action I seek is for the minister to take responsibility for ensuring a reduction in the number of Aboriginal children being removed not only from their families but also from their communities by supporting the participation of local Aboriginal communities in child protection decision-making via organisations such as Grandmothers Against Removals.
This Saturday, 26 May, is National Sorry Day. It is a day to acknowledge and recognise members of the stolen generations. It is ahead of this day that I am joining the grandmothers outside Parliament to launch the Victorian chapter of Grandmothers Against Removals. Grandmothers Against Removals formed in New South Wales in recognition that the stolen
generations are not a thing of the past. It is happening today. Matriarchs from communities across that state banded together to demand an end to Aboriginal children being removed and to call for a voice in out-of-home care placement decisions.
In 2016–17 there were around 2000 Aboriginal children in out-of-home care in Victoria. The Victorian Taskforce 1000 inquiry found that the system is in crisis, with 60 per cent of Aboriginal children they reviewed being placed with a non-Aboriginal carer. Too often children are being removed from families and from communities to be placed with carers who
might live hundreds of kilometres away when there are extended families or others in the local Aboriginal community who could provide that care. These removals are deeply traumatising for the children.
I understand the Victorian government has tried to take steps to improve this by giving the Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency (VACCA) and other organisations control over Aboriginal childcare placements, but I fear these organisations will suffer from the same problems as the department unless there is clear reform of the processes and unless grassroots community members are given a seat at the table.
In New South Wales Grandmothers Against Removals have been successful in reducing the number of children being removed from communities. This has been achieved by the New South Wales Department of Family and Community Services district officers working in cooperation with Grandmothers Against Removals to find placements for children within their local communities. The department has formalised this process by developing a document called Guiding Principles for Strengthening the Participation of Local Aboriginal Community in Child Protection and Decision Making.
The Victorian government and VACCA must look to this model and bring the strengths of it to the Victorian context if we are finally going to bring an end to the stolen generations.