Judi Moylan (Pearce, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Despite the fact that 192 countries have ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child, more than any other human rights treaty in history, the protection of children and their advancement is not universal. Statistics from UNICEF show that, for every 100 children born today, 30 will suffer malnutrition in the first five years of life, 26 will never be immunised against disease, 19 will have no access to clean drinking water and 17 will never go to school—and, of those 83 that do, 20 will not reach the fifth grade. It is also estimated that over one million children are trafficked each year and forced into work. This was graphically illustrated last night on a program on the ABC called Compass. It looked at the issue of the estimated 23 million children who are slaves in various countries around the world, and I have to say that it was a very moving program.

But, however bleak the situation, there are many positive developments which have occurred since the adoption of the convention in 1989. Globally, about 84 per cent of primary school age children are in class and the gender gap is narrowing each year. Increased international cooperation has resulted in organised networks exploiting children being brought down. And, each year, UNICEF responds to over 200 international crises, assisting children in need.

I join with the member for Fremantle in acknowledging the tremendous work that UNICEF does internationally. Clean water and improved health services are reaching the most impoverished children and, as the motion notes, UNICEF figures reveal that, since the convention was agreed to, 10,000 fewer children die every day, in large part due to the work of UNICEF and other non-government organisations. I would like to take a moment to thank the member for Fremantle for bringing this motion to the House, and I endorse the sentiments expressed, particularly acknowledging the work carried out for the benefit of children both internationally and in Australia by many government and non-government agencies. I mention the government because I am aware that under successive governments outstanding work has been initiated through AusAID which has assisted children and through our Federal Police at a national level, where they have battled to deal with sex crimes, particularly those overseas. And then there are the many agencies at state level in mostly badly under-resourced departments of child protection battling the tide of abuse and neglect of children. I know they get a bad rap by the press, but a lot of the people working in those agencies have a very, very difficult job, and I think they attempt to discharge it under the most difficult of conditions, so I would like to acknowledge that.

I suppose the only part of the motion that I have some concern about—and I am happy to have further discussion with the member for Fremantle—is about appointing a national children’s commissioner. I have some concern about whether or not we can achieve anything by appointing a children’s commissioner nationally because the protection of children is a matter for state governments. When I was minister, I had a portfolio which included abuse and neglect of children, but in practical terms the Commonwealth actually does not deal with the day-to-day issues, so I think we need to be very clear, if we are going to put money into establishing a children’s commissioner, about what the role of that commissioner is and whether it is actually going to make any progress in how we manage the terrible abuse and neglect of children that goes on in this country. I keep an open mind on that matter. Although the situation for Australian children is not as dire as for those living in many developing countries, the motion does note that Australian children face significant challenges, including homelessness, abuse and neglect, and we know that in many Indigenous communities children do not have the same opportunities that other Australian children enjoy.

Next week, after the House has risen, I shall be returning to Canberra to attend a workshop on the National Action Plan for Young Australians, and I thank Dr Lance Emerson for briefing me and sending me an invitation to this important event. The event is being organised by the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth, and its aim, as Dr Emerson, the chief executive officer, tells me, is: ‘a long-term, comprehensive, overarching social marketing strategy like beyondblue or Quit to empower parents in optimising the emotional development and wellbeing of children and young people and a national action plan for naught-to-24-year-olds rather than the current, ad-hoc approach to planning for children and young people. Within this plan there will be a national charter for interorganisational collaboration to maximise effort and ensure that we are working together to meet the needs of children and young people.’

The Chairperson of the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth is Professor Fiona Stanley, a Western Australian who has had a long and distinguished career in caring for the health and wellbeing of children and young people. The workshop builds on the work of the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth at a conference they held in 2009, where 590 delegates examined the theme ‘Transforming Australia for our children’s future: making prevention work’. I am hopeful that this workshop in Canberra will also progress the work undertaken in the previous parliament’s House of Representatives Standing Committee on Family, Community, Housing and Youth, of which I was deputy chair. This committee completed Housing the homeless: report on the inquiry into homelessness legislation, and I think some of us would be very surprised to see how many young people—and I mean very young people—end up living under bridges and on our city streets. They are very vulnerable. That report and the inquiry highlighted just how young some of these people are who are living on the streets. The other report was Avoid the harm—stay calm: report on the inquiry into the impact of violence on young Australians, which specifically investigated the issue of youth violence.

The Housing the homeless report found that between 2001 and 2006 there was a decrease in the homeless youth rate for those aged 12 to 18, which was good news. The principal two factors for this decrease were early intervention for at-risk families and youth and the improved labour market for young people. As part of the continuing efforts to improve early intervention strategies, the committee investigated a broader strategy of social inclusion, which is also one of the pillars of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. To combat youth homelessness especially, the Regional Youth Development Officers Network submitted that inclusion strategies must aim to provide:

… fundamentals of a decent life within their own community: opportunities to engage in the economic and social life of the community with dignity; increasing their capabilities and functioning; connecting people to the networks of local community; supporting health, housing, education, skills training, employment and caring responsibilities.

Each of these areas is specifically mentioned in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, illuminating a unity of purpose between our international obligations and our domestic goals.

In the Avoid the harm report a number of risk factors were identified that were more likely to lead young people to commit violent acts. These were categorised as individual, relationship, community or society. We discovered that there is clearly a link between early bullying, which is often learned from violent behaviour in the home, and later violence and, often, incarceration of young people in institutions because of that violent behaviour. I believe we need to work much harder on those early intervention programs so that we can deal with this particular matter.

To finish up, Carol Bellamy, a former executive director of UNICEF, said:

History will judge us harshly if we refuse to use our knowledge, our resources and our will to ensure that each new member of the human family arrives into a world that honours and protects the invaluable, irreplaceable years of childhood.

To that I say: hear, hear!

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