There’s been a renewed push for the NSW government to fully implement the 126 recommendations of an independent review into the state’s out-of-home care system, two years after its publication.
The 2019 Family is Culture report, chaired by Professor Megan Davis examined more than 1100 cases of Aboriginal children who had been removed from their families and proposed a suite of changes that would decrease the rates in the future.
The NSW government released what was labelled an “” three-and-a-half-page initial response in July 2020.
Last week it was revealed that Aboriginal children are now 11 times more likely to be in out-of-home care than non-Indigenous children.
Those revelations came as a state parliamentary hearing was told that a 12-year-old Aboriginal boy had spent more that 300 days living alone in an apartment under state care.
“The absence of any action or commitment in this space will see over 900 Aboriginal children being removed each year,” John Leha, CEO of Absec, the states’ peak body for Aboriginal families and children, told the ABC.
Mr Leha said the need for data sovereignty and for First Nations people to make informed decisions around how to address the issues. He also said Aboriginal communities must be consulted “authentically and genuinely” as partners when implementing the recommendations.
The government maintains it is in the process of completing 94 of the recommendations contained within the report and is set to review the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act in 2024.
The role of Aboriginal Deputy Children’s Guardian and the Aboriginal Knowledge Circle has been created but these were not recommended by the report.
“I think they are positive moves but there is a lot more that needs to happen to see the change happen at a grassroots level,” said Mr Leha.
“I think the system in itself lacks the understanding, the cultural nuances, to understand the lives of Aboriginal families and the way that the system inadvertently puts people, or families and mothers, in particular, in a position where they're actually being removed.
“Business-as-usual is not good enough when it comes to improving the lives of Aboriginal children.”
Acting CEO of the Aboriginal Legal Service, Nadine Miles, agrees.
“Aboriginal children and families are incredibly strong. They have survived many decades of child removal and attempted cultural erasure, but enough is enough," she said.
"It’s well past time for the NSW Government to admit its out-of-home care system is failing the Aboriginal children it claims to protect.
"The Government cannot continue to sideline its own commissioned report.”
Bundjalung woman and law student Vanessa Turnbull-Roberts is a survivor of out-of-home care.
“I was removed the same year Kevin Rudd gave his national apology to the Stolen Generations. In this moment, I felt confused, because I knew my mum and dad were fighting for my custody, were fighting for my culture, were fighting for me to come home,” she said.
“The state care system did not give me a better life. It provided more harm than good, and the goal must always be to do no harm.
“Child protection has a lot to be accountable for, in particular the failure to amplify community organisations and voices and ensure the rights of First Nations children.”
