Foster and Kinship Care

Ms CLANCY (Elder) (15:27): I rise today to acknowledge that this week is Foster and Kinship Carers Week. I want to thank all the foster and kinship carers in our state who are caring for the approximately 4,000 children who are currently in care. I remember the first time I got a call and was asked to take a little one into my care. I was just wrapping up work in the member for Reynell's office actually, and it was the strangest moment.

You have this incredible excitement about meeting this little human you are going to love and care for for maybe a couple of days, maybe a couple of weeks or months or years—these things can change. But you also know that with this moment there is pain elsewhere and that it is not a joyful time for the people on the other end.

Many people are working behind the scenes and in between you and the biological family potentially, trying to keep this child safe. While it is an absolute privilege to be able to be a carer—and I know that our foster and kinship carers also know that it is a privilege—it is also really complicated. It is absolutely still worth doing, though.

I just think we are so lucky to have thousands of people in our state who choose to dedicate themselves to caring for children, children they did not necessarily plan to have in their lives, but they welcome them in, and no matter how long that child is with them they provide so much love and care. It is impossible to have a child come into your care and just provide the bare minimum. You cannot just say, 'Here is a bottle. Pat pat.' You have to love them because that love and nurturing is part of the care they need and part of the care you are meant to be providing.

I want to thank everyone who is currently a foster or kinship carer. I want to thank those who have been carers and, for whatever reason, are not now. I completely understand that there are a multitude of reasons why that might be the case. I also want to thank future foster and kinship carers. I often say to people, 'If you have ever had a moment when you thought, "Oh, yeah, I could maybe be a foster carer," then start, start the process.'

The process takes a long time, as it should. There is a lot of training, there are a lot of interviews and there is a lot of work that goes into it. If you have a tiny little thought in the back of your mind that, 'Maybe that's something I could do. Maybe if I have a little bit more space and a little bit more love and a little bit more time,' even if it is one weekend a month to provide respite care, please reach out.

You can reach out to me. You can reach out to the minister, I am sure. Reach out to one of the agencies because through that process I think most people will come to realise that it is something really, really special. It is something that will change your life forever in the best of ways. You will also realise that it is okay to be able to do only a little bit, that it is okay if you have these boundaries, that this might not be okay for you, that you might not feel safe in that situation.

There are lots of different ways you can go about it. There are lots of ways you can help. Please look into it. Please start the process. I am always happy to talk to anyone considering doing foster and kinship care. I am just so, so grateful to everyone who does it because I know that there are significant challenges. It is not easy. You spend a lot of time advocating for the child or children in your care. I want all foster and kinship carers to know that I see them and I value them and I celebrate them not just this week but every day of the year. I am so, so grateful.

In the time remaining, I would just like to acknowledge the passing of a friend and former colleague of mine Mick Tumbers. He was a Labor giant and he was the first real traditional unionist I think I ever met. From the moment he woke up in the morning to the moment he went to sleep, he was thinking about workers and fighting for workers. I enjoyed every moment that I worked with him and I spent with him, and my love is with his family, especially Max and Shauna. I loved Mick Tumbers very, very much and I know many in this room did.