Warning: this article discusses distressing themes, including self-harm.
The family of a Yuin-Dunghutti-Tharawal teenager who died in NSW state care in 2018 are calling for accountability and changes in the system following a coronial inquest into his death.
The body of George Campbell, then 17, was found near Wallaga Lake Village a day after he went missing on 9 March 2018.
At a coronial inquest into the teenager's death, NSW State Coroner Teresa O’Sullivan pointed to the failures of the Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ) to provide the teen with the level of culturally-safe care he needed.
In a joint statement, Campbell's mother Karen Campbell, grandmother Fay Campbell and Uncle Rodney Kelly expressed their disappointment, saying “a lot more needs to be done".
“We need our own services and our own people looking after our kids, not the colonial system of out-of-home care,” the statement read.
“We need some accountability for George because the minister and their people should have taken proper care of [him]. It is a terrible thing to have happened, it shouldn’t happen to any mother.”
'My son would still be here'
George Campbell had been in state care since the age of seven.
In her findings, Coroner O'Sullivan stressed the importance of culturally-informed care, and noted that they had been raised by Campbell's mother.
“I acknowledge the concerns expressed on behalf of Karen [Campbell] and agree that a cultural plan is integral to the immediate and lifelong social and emotional wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people and should actively facilitate their connections to family, kin, community, Country and culture,” wrote O'Sullivan.
In response to the findings, Campbell’s mother said his death was preventable.
“If George was allowed to interact with his family maybe things would be different today,” said Ms Campbell.
“My son would still be here if things had been done properly.”
Advocates from the National Justice Project (NJP), a human rights law firm representing Campbell’s family, have stressed the need to provide culturally safe care to First Nations youth in state care.
In a submission to the coroner, NJP argued that George Campbell’s cultural plan was inadequate, did not take into consideration his own desires and aspirations, and did not have any accountability in place to ensure the plan was delivered.
“The status quo is failing young people like George,” said NJP Principal Solicitor George Newhouse.
“Aboriginal children are relying on DCJ to do its job properly. There are lives at stake.”
Mr Newhouse said the DCJ “needs to back up its commitments” by investing in resourcing the appropriate care for First Nations children and called for First Nations organisations to be the providers.
“Every effort should be made to support First Nations families and reduce the numbers of First Nations children in state care,” said Mr Newhouse.
“Services to Aboriginal children should be provided by independent First Nations organisations, as it is obvious that DCJ cannot do its job.”
An independent report from 2019 found the out-of-home care (OOHC) system administered by the DCJ lacks cultural competency and trauma-informed approaches. The report, Family is Culture, made 125 recommendations to address the issues in the OOHC system.
However, in a 2022 report, the DCJ admitted it had failed to implement the key reforms to which it committed citing a lack of financial and human resources.
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