Dean Smith (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak to the Community Affairs References Committee report Grandparents who take primary responsibility for raising their grandchildrenand the government's response in regard to that. In doing so, I would like to reflect briefly on the history of the committee and talk briefly about the government's response, and then end with a quote about the significance of this.

This inquiry began back on 9 December 2013 when this place moved a motion to establish the inquiry into grandparents who take primary responsibility for raising their grandchildren. I was pleased that that committee reference was endorsed by my fellow committee members: Senator Siewert, Senator Moore, Senator Brown and others.

It received over 173 submissions from around the country. Of the 173 submissions, 63 per cent were from individuals detailing their personal stories and the real-life struggles that they endure taking on the responsibility of raising their grandchildren. I was pleased that 36 of those submissions came from my home state of Western Australia and particularly pleased that fellow senators allowed the committee to travel not just to Perth but to Albany in the far south-west of Western Australia, where we heard some very powerful accounts from grandparents who are raising their grandchildren. The committee held seven public hearings around the country and, of course, one of those was in Perth and one of those was in Albany.

The inquiry focused on the unmet support needs of grandparents who raise their grandchildren and how to address those needs. The committee tabled its final report in October 2014.

I am pleased that in the government's response they do acknowledge the important role played by grandparents who take primary responsibility for raising their grandchildren and the challenges frequently associated with this caring role. The government's response does recognise that governments at all levels may need to improve existing information resources and channels to ensure that grandparent carers are more aware of the supports and services that may be available to them.

I was also pleased that the government is prepared to commit some additional resources to the grandparent advisers program, which was an element of our recommendations. The government has committed to expand the program from this year on a trial basis with two additional grandparent adviser positions and funding for outreach activities. Under the trial, the number of grandparent advisers will increase from six to eight. In addition, the eight grandparent advisers will conduct outreach activities with grandparent advocacy groups and organisations to promote the grandparent advisers role within the community.

I want to reiterate that this is the beginning of raising the awareness of grandparents who are raising their grandchildren; this is not the end. I will continue to work, as I know other senators will, with the government, with particular non-government organisations, grandparent groups, grandparent carers and their families to provide the support and important recognition that this worthy group of Australians so justly deserve.

But a note of caution: the government's response is heavy on process. Those processes are important. It is important that governments work together. But a word of caution: if the government thinks that this is a static issue in the Australian community or the government thinks that this is an issue that is receding then I disagree and I disagree very, very strongly.

The reality is that since this issue was first raised in this Senate back in 2013, the issue has got more pronounced, more prominent in the Australian community. And when we talk about the affliction of ice, when we talk about drug and alcohol abuse, we cannot ignore the fact that where those issues end is with grandparents having to take primary responsibility for their grandchildren because the parents of those children are afflicted with the scourges of drug abuse and alcohol abuse.

You cannot invest money in strategies to deal with ice and drug and alcohol abuse and not give attention and, indeed, funding to the important issue of grandparents raising grandchildren. A word of caution: this issue is not going away. It is, unfortunately, a modern feature of our community. Fortunately, it is one in which grandparents are stepping up to the challenge. Their first instinct is that they will meet these demands themselves rather than call on government, but the harsh reality is that the government does have a role to play.

On a positive note, the government has not been ignorant of these issues, and I am pleased that the new Minister for Social Services, Christian Porter, announced late last year that the government will exempt grandparent carers from the changes to family tax benefit part B. This means that grandparent and great-grandparent carers with a youngest child aged 13 to 18 years of age will be eligible to receive family tax benefit part B at the standard rate. That is, they will be exempt from any changes to FTB part B.

I am also pleased that my colleague Senator Simon Birmingham, as the Minister for Education and Training, announced late last year that grandparents who are the primary carers for their grandchildren will be exempt from the childcare subsidy activity test. In short, this means that grandparent carers will be eligible to access up to 100 hours of approved child care fortnightly. The measure as announced by the government will go some way to providing much-needed respite for grandparent carers and give grandchildren the opportunity to enjoy learning and playing opportunities with other young children.

These measures recognise that grandparent primary carers provide a vitally important role in our community, often stepping in to look after the grandchildren when these children have been in stressful and other adverse circumstances. These two announcements from the government are a small but important recognition that grandparent carers are doing it tough. As I said, this is the beginning of an important issue in our community, one that will not go away. It is one that federal governments of all colours will have to face up to. They will have to step up to the challenge of meeting this very modern dilemma in our community.

In closing, I want to share from page 16 of the report of the Community Affairs References Committee. It was a contribution by Dr Jan Backhouse, a social researcher based at the Centre for Children and Young People at Southern Cross University, who I thought eloquently put this modern community challenge in its rightful context. She said:

The grandparent-as-parent experience is marked by both deep pain and pleasure. The many challenges faced by grandparents who take on the primary care of their grandchildren include financial issues, legal battles, physical and emotional health problems (their own, as well as those of their grandchildren), social isolation and lifestyle changes, parenting problems and conflict with the children's parents.

Nevertheless, grandparents are totally committed to the care, safety and happiness of their grandchildren, often at the expense of their own lives. They routinely place their grandchildren's financial needs before their own, often drawing on very meagre income to provide for the children's health, education, out of school/sporting activities etc. in an attempt to give their grandchildren the same opportunities available to other children.

Research also reveals the significant loss of the traditional grandparent role by grandparent carers. Instead of the 'mythical' grandparent role involving 'pleasure without responsibility', they must now take on the parenting roles of disciplinarian, provider and authority figure. This shift to the grandparent-as-parent role has impacted on grandparents in a number of different ways, including provoking feelings of being unrecognized, disadvantaged, misunderstood and isolated within the community, together with a strong sense of injustice in relation to their experience.

It is a very, very powerful account of the modern challenge, the modern dilemma, that the Australian community faces—one that will not go away. The government's response is an important first step. It is the beginning; it is not the end. I am pleased that the government has been able to match its response to this report with some real benefits to people in terms of changes to the family tax benefit.