CHILD PROTECTION

The Hon. P.L. WHITE (Taylor) (14:18): My question is to the Minister for Families and Communities. What are the findings of the child protection research commissioned by the Department for Families and Communities on entry into care?

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Minister for Families and Communities, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation, Minister for Housing, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Disability, Minister Assisting the Premier in Cabinet Business and Public Sector Management) (14:18): On 15 November, the DFC released a research report in conjunction with Associate Professor Dr Paul Delfabbro. The purpose of that research was to be clear about what we are doing in the child protection system and what we need to do better. The study examined the background of infants placed in care between 2000 and 2005 and, unfortunately, it paints a very bleak picture of the pressures that have been placed on families.

Two thirds of families who have children who enter care cannot afford to make ends meet. Over half come from homes where there is domestic violence or substance abuse. Of course, as a government, we have known for a long time that families have been doing it tough and have had to cope with numerous financial pressures. The latest Bureau of Statistics household expenditure data shows that families in the bottom quarter of earnings are considerably worse off than they were 10 years ago. So much for never having been better off.

We know that the introduction of the Welfare to Work package has meant that many families with children are between $56 and $226 worse off per fortnight. We know that rising interest rates are putting pressure on those who owe money on mortgages, personal loans and credit cards. Further, an update on Australian poverty lines, produced by Australia Fair a few weeks ago, showed that Australians in poverty increased from 9.8 per cent in 2003-04 to 11.1 per cent in 2005-06.

The research that we recently released is the first independent research that links these kinds of pressures to more children coming into care. At the moment, we have 1,700 or so children in care, and the number is growing at the rate of 10 per cent per annum. We do not like that fact. We would hope that all families would be able to care for their children, but the sad reality is that it is not always possible. In fact, this research outlines that, in many cases, family reunification fails. In these situations, we will always step in to look after the children in need, recognising our obligations, and we know that the most effective way of dealing with these families is by supporting them earlier.

As part of the Keeping Them Safe initiative in 2004, the government implemented the universal home visiting program to support new parents in caring for their children. For those experiencing some extra difficulty, we have the sustained home visiting program (or the family home visiting program, as it is now called), where trained nurses continue to see families throughout this important time. We have further targeted programs, including Stronger Families, Safer Babies, which work with vulnerable infants, and we also have the early intervention commitments outlined in our most recent policy document, Keeping Them Safe In Our Care, which was launched in June.

While a lot of attention has been paid lately to the costs of care for some of our most difficult children, we accept that we need to do more to help those children in these types of placements to promote better long-term outcomes. I must say that, in the spirit of bipartisanship, I welcome the support of the Leader of the Opposition and his remarks about the importance of early intervention and its crucial role in making a difference for families. I think that is something that should be well above bipartisan political debate. It should be a common position between us that early intervention for children and supporting families is an important matter. That is why we have been opening children's centres throughout the state, which provide direct education, health and community service responses to young children. We are ensuring that we place those supports there, rather than having to retrieve the situation after those families break apart. More than that, we need to address the fundamental social inequities that are ratcheting up the pressure on families.

It is true to say that there have always been families in our community that are, I suppose, on the edge of coping. However, over the last 10 years, we have seen a massive increase in the pressure on those families through a range of policy changes largely emanating from the national government. I think that on Saturday there is an opportunity to begin to turn around the pressure on families that is emerging and to turn around what really has been an appalling trend, in terms of the protection of our youngest and most vulnerable citizens.