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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2024-08-28 Daily Xml
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Motions

Child Protection

The Hon. N.J. CENTOFANTI (Leader of the Opposition) (16:48): I move:

That this council—

1. Censures the Minister for Child Protection, the Honourable Katrine Hildyard MP; and

2. Calls on her to resign for her failures in managing her portfolio, in particular her failure to deliver the government's commitments for timely legislative reform of the Children and Young People (Safety) Act 2017 to address identified systemic deficiencies.

Child protection is fundamentally important because children represent the future of any society. Ensuring their safety, wellbeing and healthy development is not only a moral imperative but also a societal responsibility. Children are inherently vulnerable due to their age and dependency on adults for care and guidance. Protecting them from harm, abuse, neglect and exploitation is essential to secure their rights to live free from fear and harm and to enable them to reach their full potential.

Furthermore, child protection is crucial for fostering a stable and supportive environment in which children can thrive. When children are safe and protected they are more likely to grow up with a sense of security and confidence which forms the foundation for their physical, emotional, cognitive and social development. This, in turn, contributes to healthier communities and a more productive society as a whole.

Child protection efforts encompass a range of strategies, including legal frameworks, social services, education programs and community support networks. These initiatives, aimed to prevent abuse and neglect, respond effectively to incidents of harm and support families in providing nurturing environments for their children. By investing in child protection, societies invest in their own future by ensuring that the next generation grow up with the opportunities and resources they need to succeed.

Child protection is not only a humanitarian concern but it is also a strategic imperative for building a resilient and prosperous society. It requires a collective effort from governments, communities, families and individuals to create a safe and nurturing environment where every child can thrive. Prioritising child protection ensures that children can grow up in dignity and security, equipped to contribute positively to their communities and to the world at large.

The opposition has consistently advocated for the appointment of a dedicated child protection minister focused solely on South Australia's vulnerable children and the embattled child protection system, which is currently in crisis under the incumbent minister. Regrettably, these calls have been repeatedly disregarded. The minister has failed to meet her own established targets, as evidenced in the 2023-24 budget, to introduce amendments to the Children and Young People (Safety) Act 2017 that are yet to be introduced to this parliament. I note the minister has put a draft bill out for consultation following immense pressure from the opposition, crossbench and the community. It should not take this pressure on the minister to do her job and meet her failed targets.

This failure is deeply concerning, and underscores the urgent need for a minister singularly devoted to addressing these critical issues. This prolonged inaction raises serious questions about her ability to deliver on key legislative objectives, crucial for safeguarding vulnerable children. It highlights the pressing necessity for a minister with the dedication and capability to effectively manage and reform the child protection system.

Throughout our engagement with stakeholders, including organisations, carers and families, we have been deeply moved by their distressing accounts of inadequate support and systemic challenges. Heartbreakingly, some carers have shared stories of relying on charitable assistance just to ensure children receive basic necessities like food, an unacceptable situation in a prosperous society. Financial strain is consistently cited as a major obstacle, exacerbated by broader economic pressures affecting the community at large.

The government's failure to adequately address these concerns, as evidenced by the recent budget measures, underscores its disconnect from the realities faced by carers and ultimately the welfare of vulnerable children. We firmly believe that carers are doing their utmost under challenging circumstances and their dedication is absolutely commendable. Their consistent advocacy for legislative reform, the establishment of a standalone child protection minister and an independent complaints process reflects their deep concern for improving outcomes for South Australia's vulnerable children. These calls should not, and must not, be ignored.

Child protection must unequivocally be the minister's foremost priority. Regardless of personal competence, ensuring the safety and wellbeing of children in state care is paramount. However, recent observations suggest a concerning misalignment of priorities, with the minister seemingly more engaged in other activities than addressing urgent issues within her portfolio. Such negligence not only represents a failure of duty but also constitutes a betrayal of the trust placed in her by the community, particularly by those reliant on state support for their safety and future.

Instead of genuine reform and prioritising the welfare of children, the current system appears disproportionately focused on child removal and exploitation of foster and kinship carers. This approach not only fails to promote the best interests of children but also perpetuates systemic inefficiencies and injustices within the child protection framework. Immediate and decisive action is needed to honour the commitments made to the community and to rectify long-standing deficiencies in child protection policy and practice.

Financially, the government's mismanagement is starkly evident. Residential care for each child costs taxpayers exorbitant sums annually, far exceeding the costs associated with foster and kinship care, which have demonstrated superior outcomes for children. The failure to adequately support carers financially not only squanders taxpayer resources but also jeopardises the life prospects of children in state care.

Carers who fulfil vital roles under challenging circumstances deserve enhanced support and recognition for their invaluable contributions to society. The financial burdens placed on carers are particularly egregious, with many describing their situation as akin to financial extortion and a circumstance that imperils their ability to sustain their essential voluntary duties. Without immediate redress, more children risk placement in costly and less effective residential care settings, exacerbating systemic inefficiencies and compromising child welfare outcomes.

The minister's inadequate engagement with carers, as evidenced by prolonged delays in providing essential safety equipment, disability supports and medical supplies, further undermines trust and perpetuates systemic deficiencies. Carers rightfully expect and deserve timely and effective support from the government, yet these expectations are consistently and constantly unmet. This pattern of neglect must be rectified to restore faith in the government's commitment to child protection and to ensure the welfare of vulnerable children remains paramount.

The current state of child protection in South Australia demands urgent and comprehensive reform. The appointment of a dedicated child protection minister, coupled with genuine legislative reforms and enhanced support for carers, is imperative to address systemic deficiencies and improve outcomes for vulnerable children. The government must prioritise the welfare of children over bureaucratic inertia and partisan interests, ensuring that every child in state care receives the support and protection they deserve.

The Hon. L.A. HENDERSON (16:55): I rise today to speak in support of the honourable member's motion. Members will be familiar with this document right here. It is the government's budget, and it set a target for the 2024-25 financial year to introduce changes to the Children and Young People (Safety) Act. But the 2023-24 budget set a very similar target to the target that is outlined in this budget. It, too, had a target to introduce amendments to support changes to the Children and Young People (Safety) Act. I feel as if this is deja vu.

Of course, we also know that this target and body of work originated in Labor's 2022-23 budget where the commencement of the full legislative review for this act began. Following the review of this act for this minister, the report has now sat with the minister collecting dust since February 2023 and, despite this featuring as a target in all three of the Labor government's budgets to date and the commitment from this government to introduce changes to the legislation last year, it took the opposition, it took the crossbench and it took members of the community to rally in discontent with the performance of this minister to produce draft legislation.

On the last Wednesday of sitting before the midwinter break, this chamber passed a motion calling on the Malinauskas Labor government to introduce legislation to amend the Children and Young People (Safety) Act, to prioritise children and what is in their best interests in South Australia, a motion that was in the name of the Hon. Tammy Franks that the government did not support, claiming, and I quote, that:

Due to the notice period given for moving and bringing this motion to a vote, the Labor caucus has been unable to consider the motion, thus the government is not able to support it on that basis.

Well, this motion had been sitting on the Notice Paper since the end of 2023—an absolutely pitiful excuse on behalf of the government to not come to the table on an issue as crucial as legislative reform for child protection.

If we fast forward to estimates for the Department for Child Protection—and in case members of this place need to jog their memory as to which day this was, this was the day that the Minister for Child Protection was seen squealing in this chamber, as if to squeal with glee. But the minister was not able to give a definitive timeline on that day as to when this legislative reform would be brought to the parliament.

The Hon. Tammy Franks, the Hon. Connie Bonaros, the Hon. Sarah Game and the opposition all stood together following this call, calling for the minister's resignation. We each gave notice of the same censure motion on the last sitting day before the midwinter break. I think it is safe to say that the Minister for Child Protection was on notice that her performance was lacking, so I find it interesting that, despite this having been a target for the minister in her 2022, 2023 and 2024 budgets, suddenly, magically, we see a draft bill put out for consultation when the minister is staring at a censure motion upon the return of parliament.

The minister has had more than two years to introduce this reform and only now, under immense pressure from the opposition, from the crossbench, from members of the community, is she addressing her failed targets. It should not have taken this, it should not have taken pressure from the opposition, from the crossbench, from the community to get involved, for this minister to bring such crucial legislative reform.

The minister has had no issue in taking her time to get this legislation out for consultation, yet when facing a censure motion she has been able to pull a rabbit out of a hat. However, she is only giving the community one month to consider Labor's proposed changes. She has been sitting on the review of this act for roughly 18 months since February 2023, yet the community gets one month to consider legislative reform that will bring such significant change to the child protection system.

Whilst the minister has released a draft bill for consultation, the community is still left waiting for the legislation to be brought to this parliament. Minister Katrine Hildyard cannot afford to wait to bring this legislation to the parliament any longer, and the opposition will be watching with great interest to hold this minister and this government to account, to ensure that upon the finalisation of the consultation period this legislation is promptly brought to the parliament. It is crucial that the government gets this legislation right, and that long-awaited legislative reform is brought to tackle this in-crisis child protection system.

Of course, we know this is not the only target the minister has failed to deliver from her budget last year. The minister has been able to pull a rabbit out of the hat following criticism from the opposition, and over the midwinter break we saw her launch the Workforce Strategy for the Child Protection and Family Support Sector, and release the refreshed Statement of Commitment to Foster and Kinship Carers for consultation.

However, consider that the 2022-23 budget included a target to begin work on a workforce development strategy, and that the 2023-24 budget set the target to develop a sector-wide child protection workforce strategy. Then, of course, we saw a target in this year's budget to finalise and implement the Workforce Strategy for the Child Protection and Family Sector. One has to wonder what has taken this minister and her department so long to develop and implement a workforce strategy.

The 2023-24 budget provided a target to launch a refreshed Statement of Commitment to Foster and Kinship Carers—and we know our carers are absolutely crucial—but only this week the statement of commitment that appears on the Department for Child Protection's website still had the names and signatures of the former Minister for Child Protection Rachel Sanderson and the former chief executive Cathy Taylor at the bottom of that statement of commitment.

When you compare the draft statement of commitment that has currently been released for consultation with the existing statement of commitment on the DCP website, one has to wonder why it has taken so long for this minister to release this document, particularly in circumstances where the proposed amendments are modest, do not justify the failure to meet her target, and should not have taken about two and a half years since this government was elected. Whilst the minister has turned her attention to these failed targets, it is the opposition's view that it is too little too late.

The opposition has now been calling for a standalone child protection minister for over two years. As my colleague in the lower house Josh Teague has said, her portfolios of sport, recreation and racing mix with child protection like oil and water. This was due to our belief that this portfolio requires a laser-like focus rather than someone juggling their time with the crucial child protection portfolio, with a child protection system that is in crisis, land with attending sporting matches. We now call for the minister's resignation due to her clear failure to deliver in this space. I have met with many people who are involved in this space—stakeholders, organisations, carers and families—and it is absolutely heartbreaking to hear what is going on and the lack of support that they have told me they are provided with.

Earlier this week, we saw a report about one of the South Australian parliamentary inquiries being inundated with stories of foster carers who were struggling to cover the costs for vulnerable kids. I will share some of this article. It says:

Foster carers are having to 'survive on Afterpay' as they struggle to cover the everyday costs of taking in children in state care.

In one case a single carer has racked up a $2,000 bill on the high-interest, buy now pay later scheme, and another is using it to afford groceries.

It goes on to say:

Many have warned it is 'becoming unaffordable' to be a foster carer as the cost of living eats into government payments.

The article goes on to say that a carer has said:

'We survive on Afterpay,' wrote one carer, referring to the payment system which allows users to pay for goods in instalments.

One carer of more than 20 years said they 'live week to week' and 'use Afterpay to buy food' on the weeks when they don't receive a government payment.

Why is this the case? This is utterly unacceptable. I hear time and time again about the need for greater support from this government and about the struggle many carers face to pay for basic utilities and bills. I believe carers are doing their best. We would be absolutely lost without them, so it is on this government to make sure they fix this problem, find solutions and deliver support for carers. There is a long list of issues with the child protection system at the moment. The minister's failure to meet targets suggests that she is struggling to juggle her time and focus between child protection and her sports portfolio.

Over the midwinter break, the opposition circulated a petition that is calling for a standalone child protection minister. The petition has gained nearly 3,700 signatures, many people sharing their thoughts on the in-crisis child protection system and I thank those who have joined in this call and who have shared their views. I know that for many in the child protection system, particularly our carers, it takes a lot of bravery to be able to come forward and share their thoughts on how our system can be better improved. I will share a few comments with the chamber that have been passed on. One person says:

The state of this system is diabolical. This minister has failed in her basic duties and has demonstrably failed to take her role seriously. This Premier must prioritise child welfare over sport and recreation and failure to do so is nothing short of professional negligence.

Another person said:

I cannot believe that child protection is just lumped in with sport and recreation. That simply devalues the importance of children in care. There can be no more important issue than the wellbeing of children. We need a stand-alone minister.

Another person says:

It's time for Minister Hildyard to step aside and allow someone else to become a standalone Minister for Child Protection, someone who will dedicate their political career to the most vulnerable children in our state.

Another person says:

Mr Premier, it's time that South Australia had a standalone child protection minister. The portfolio is way too important for it to be a shared ministry.

Another person says:

South Australia desperately needs a standalone child protection minister to directly address children in crisis situations. A standalone child protection minister should also address the lack of child protection workers.

Another says:

Please, for the sake of children, families, carers and the broken system, appoint a standalone minister for the child protection portfolio.

Another says:

It is appalling that the Minister for Child Protection does not have a standalone portfolio. Please rectify this immediately.

Another says:

There needs to be change, so let's start with having a standalone child protection minister, someone whose actions change and listens to what is needed.

I think you get the point. The community is absolutely behind the calls for a standalone child protection minister, as evidenced by many people joining in our calls through our petition.

The opposition's petition calling for a standalone child protection minister shows that many in South Australia's community believe it is untenable for Minister Katrine Hildyard to continue to juggle her sports portfolio with her child protection portfolios, so Minister Katrine Hildyard at this point must do the right thing and resign, step aside and allow someone else to come in and take over and have a singular, dedicated focus on the in-crisis child protection system. We need a child protection minister who is completely focused on our state's most vulnerable children and not someone who is preoccupied with sports.

Katrine Hildyard's lack of urgency in delivering this crucial legislative reform is just another reason why South Australians deserve a standalone child protection minister. We need someone whose sole focus is protecting our most vulnerable. Crises set a test of leadership, and with the child protection system in crisis the Premier must prioritise this portfolio and must appoint a standalone, dedicated child protection minister. We need a show of leadership from the Premier. The ball is squarely in his court.

The Hon. E.S. BOURKE (17:10): I rise on behalf of the government to condemn the motion brought by the honourable member and to outline the mammoth effort and investments that this government is putting into the care and protection of our state's most vulnerable children. The Minister for Child Protection has taken on one of the toughest portfolios a government has to offer and has made significant inroads over the last two years since coming into office.

The Malinauskas government has invested an additional $442 million in the state's child protection and family support system: $128.9 million in the 2022 budget, $26.7 million in the Mid-Year Budget Review, $216.6 million in the 2023 budget and $70 million in the 2024 budget. The government and the minister have undertaken a widespread program of reform and improvement of the system with achievements so far including:

preparing transformative new legislation to replace the existing Child and Young People (Safety) Act. This legislation, which is currently out for feedback, is significant and speaks to the government's determination to give children the best opportunity to be safe, well, loved and able to thrive, and set out a foundation of framework for transforming change;

delivering a sector-leading workforce strategy, something the opposition failed to do while in government;

engaging the entire sector in a nation-leading symposium to develop a 20-year vision for the system with a second symposium to be held later this year;

slowing the growth of children and young people coming into care from around 9 per cent under the opposition to below 1 per cent;

increasing carer payments year-on-year since Labor formed government, with the most recent budget delivering a 4.8 per cent increase;

investing in the Guardian for Children and Young People and re-establishing the Visitor, a role cut by the Liberals while in government;

investing in family group conferencing, a $13.5 million investment over five years which is showing greater results with 91.5 per cent of families and 90.4 per cent of Aboriginal families continuing to safely care for their children after the family group conferencing as at the end of the 2023-24 financial year, including extended families;

delivering an Aboriginal peak body led by community;

increasing the number of frontline staff in the system: 42 social workers to build capacity and 10 Principal Aboriginal Consultants to expand cultural capability;

overseeing an increase in carer numbers after years of going backwards

driving policy changes within the department, such as notifications to the minister, something the former member for Adelaide, Rachel Sanderson, never did. Presumably a plausible deniability was preferred;

updating the Statement of Commitment, out for carer consultation; and

delivering on the promise to establish the Direct Experience Group, the Carer Council, and Expert Advisory Group to provide insights and advice on the policy and operations of child protection and family support.

We wholeheartedly acknowledge as a government that there is more to be done, and the minister is making all efforts to keep on with tackling the complex issues children and families face. She will not be distracted by the Liberals and those opposite who have no plan and no solution and are only political pointscoring, and refuse to engage in this complex issue of children and families they are confronting. Their track record speaks for itself and does nothing but play petty politics on this very serious issue.

I walked into the chamber and I thought I would give credit to members opposite that maybe they had written their speeches prior to their reshuffle, because it was quite surprising to continue to hear them repeatedly say that they are calling for a dedicated minister for child protection, that we should have someone solely focused on child protection. They repeated this, both members who spoke from the opposition, many times throughout their speeches. It is quite extraordinary they have mentioned this because maybe they forgot that they have been through a reshuffle themselves, where they had an opportunity to take their own advice, to take the advice they have said has been called for by the community, to have a dedicated shadow minister for child protection. That has not been taken.

The three people on your side who have not been given a prize are all Davids. Maybe one of those Davids could have got a shadow portfolio for child protection, but you did not dedicate that.

The Hon. T.A. Franks interjecting:

The Hon. E.S. BOURKE: Pisoni. Options were available—not everyone did get a prize, so someone could become the dedicated child protection shadow representative, but you did not take that advice, instead you have given it to someone who is the shadow attorney-general, the shadow minister for Aboriginal affairs, the shadow minister for child protection, the shadow minister for industrial relations and for the public sector. This is a person who is also in one of our most marginal seats in the state. You cannot tell me that this member is focused on child protection. Maybe you could have taken your own advice and had an opportunity to do what you are advising. I have complete confidence in our minister, the member for Reynell, the Hon. Katrine Hildyard. I know she is doing an incredible job and I do not support those opposite.

The Hon. T.A. FRANKS (17:17): I was not planning to speak to this, although that might surprise members, given that I have a very similar notice of motion not quite yet on the Notice Paper formally that I seek to discharge soon. However, listening to the government, they clearly have not learnt the lesson of the eight weeks of the long winter break.

This minister, the Minister for Child Protection, received notice from this chamber in December 2023—not this year, December 2023—that we expected her to keep her and her government's pre-election commitments with regard to legislative reform, pointing out that promises had been made to the sector and, in particular, there had been a review of the act, as was promised and as is required under the act, but that that review had sat in Minister Hildyard's in-tray, having gone out to the stakeholders, having had significant consultation, since February 2023—2023, not 2024!

So in December 2023, given the stakeholders who participated in that consultation had been told that they could expect a legislative reform piece of work, a bill perhaps, before this parliament by the end of 2023, it was reasonably expected, I would have thought, that this council would look to debate and vote on a motion just before the winter break, six months after it was given notice of, condemning the minister for her failure to bring forward that promised legislation.

As the Hon. Laura Henderson and the Hon. Nicola Centofanti have noted, in the debate that night, having been given six months notice that the council had concerns about this minister's performance, the only response from the government late that night, as it finally got to a vote on that late sitting Wednesday, was that they had not had time to consider the motion. Indeed, Minister Hildyard obviously needed more time to provide better briefing notes for her representatives in this place.

Six months later—and so it was little surprise then that the Greens, the opposition, One Nation and SA-Best all stood up the next day and gave notice to this minister that she needed to do her job and keep the Malinauskas government's promises with regard to legislative reform—lo and behold we now have a draft bill that was circulated late in the winter break. But what I will remind government members of is that there was a promise made in regard to independent grievance processes in this department. That is completely lacking in the bill that Minister Hildyard has put out for public consultation, and it is a breach of faith, yet again, with the sector.

The minister could have helped herself by doing the hard work that she needed to do with regard to reforming the thresholds for mandatory notifications, and I am pleased to see that that now is in the bill that is out for the second round of consultation. We look forward to finally seeing a bill from Minister Hildyard before this council and before this parliament. From the Greens' perspective, it is not getting through this parliament without an independent—a truly independent—grievance process for this department. So I again put the minister on notice for her to take that memo.

There has been a lot of talk, and I have little sympathy for the opposition's claims that we need a standalone minister. We do not need a standalone minister; we need a competent minister. This minister drops the ball, not just in this portfolio but also in her other portfolios.

We had a greyhound industry reform inspector in name but not in legislation. Indeed, the other secret consultation that this minister has been doing—because it has been sent out not to the community and not through YourSAy but only to hand-picked people in the greyhound racing industry and those who have been involved in the debate—is a bill that this minister is now planning to bring before the parliament, at some stage yet to be determined, to actually give powers to that greyhound industry reform inspector.

Despite what we said back in December, when the government gave the greyhound racing industry two years' notice—two years' notice—and despite not delivering on a greyhound racing inspector by Easter, as was promised back in December 2023, this minister has now oversighted a greyhound industry reform inspector (a GIRI), who does not have the investigative powers that he needs and that only the parliament can give him. So she does not just drop the ball on child protection, she drops the ball on racing as well, and goodness knows what other matters in her portfolios she has dropped the ball on.

With that, if this went to a vote right now it may well pass. I ask the Labor government to reflect on their condemnation of the motion and separate that from their condemnation of the opposition.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. I.K. Hunter.

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