Dorinda Cox (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the bills currently before the Senate, the Family Law Amendment Bill 2023 and the Family Law Amendment (Information Sharing) Bill 2023. I want to keep my contributions to the First Nations elements of these bills, but I would also like to wholeheartedly echo the contributions of my colleagues Senator Waters—she has done some amazing work on this issue—and Senator Rice. These bills and these changes are long overdue and provide much-needed modernisation to this legal framework. Of course there's still a lot of work to be done in the family courts but this is a step in the right direction. In particular, I want to focus on two elements of these bills. The first is the requirement for a standalone best-interest factor to promote the best interests of First Nations children and their rights to connection, culture, family, community and language, and the second is the broadening of the definition of 'family' to include the concept of kinship.

I can't overstate how important these changes are; in particular, they come from my own lived experience. It's vital for the wellbeing of our children that they're connected to culture and also to country. Country sustains us as the traditional custodians of this land. We have taken care of this land for tens of thousands of years; it is our birthright and our sacred privilege to be on country and to care for country. As we care for and sustain our country, country cares for us and sustains us. But it's also that connection to our country and our kinship which mainstream Australians usually call their 'family tree'. The kinship connection is a matrilineal process; it governs and tells us who we are related to and also involves our totemic, or our moiety, systems.

Our kids belong on country, they belong in our community and they belong with their culture, learning from their elders, taking care of their community and learning their language, their stories, their dances and their songs. This is inherently in the best interests of children. In fact, it's crucial for their psychological safety and wellbeing; studies have shown that disconnection from culture and family for First Nations children can have a significant impact on their mental health. This includes loss of identity and trauma; unfortunately, children may never recover from this. Children being removed from their families can have a long and intergenerational impact, as we have seen with the ongoing impacts and trauma from the Stolen Generations.

Something that's important to take into account is the fact that children might have parents from different mobs from different areas. They need to have considerations about how both of those parents may wish to provide their children with a chance to connect to culture and to country. First Nations people have a unique concept—and therefore definition and understanding of—of family. It is called 'kinship'. As a First Nations person, I have not only a responsibility to care for my immediate family, which includes my mother, my siblings and my children but my obligations also extend to my kinship. This extends to my nieces, my nephews, my cousins and members of my community; we consider them all as part of the immediate family. Indeed, a lot of our children's connection to culture comes from our kinship relationships, so, in a way, these changes are intrinsically linked to each other.

The NSW Aboriginal Women's Advisory Network explained this well in their submission to the inquiry into the Family Law Amendment Bill, saying:

It is not enough for an Aboriginal child merely to watch NITV, or to be taken to Aboriginal events, such as NAIDOC events, or to participate in Aboriginal cultural programs, that are not specific to their nation and kin. It is also not enough for a child to only have contact with an Aboriginal member of the extended family who is not biologically related to the child, in lieu of any direct connection with the child's Aboriginal parents—

or their kinship connections—

and family.

For too long, the current interpretation of the law has not been inclusive of a child's kinship relationships, so court orders have placed children in the care of people outside of these kinship relationships. The courts' recognition of kinship will play a very important role in ensuring that children enjoy their rights to culture, family, country and, in particular, language. In their submission to the inquiry into the bill, SNAICC, the Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care, recommended that ACCOs—the Aboriginal community controlled area—receive funding to develop practice guidelines and deliver training to develop the capability amongst judicial officers and other professionals in the family law system to apply these concepts. They also said:

The guidelines and training should be aimed at to judges, lawyers, legal service officers, social workers and other support staff who are involved in making determinations on the meaning of member of the family or relative.

They added:

… it is critical to recognise that notions of kinship and associated obligations cannot necessarily be taught and learnt. A set of practice guidelines would assist by explaining general and common concepts; however they would be unable to capture the varied nature of cultural practices that are specific to different Nations.

As we in this place know, they are not all the same.

We know that First Nations kids are still being taken from their families at unacceptable rates; in particular, in my home state of Western Australia, which has the highest rate of child removal. We know the trauma and disconnection caused to parents, families and the wider community, and we know that they disproportionately impact First Nations families. There is still a lot of work to be done to bring these rates down and to prevent people from appearing in the Family Court in the first place. This work needs to be holistic and led by the community. It must include health reform, education, housing, family and domestic violence services, cultural centres, opportunities for kids and families to get out on country and care for country, after-school programs that are culturally appropriate, support for new families and so much more. When communities have the resources they need to look after themselves and each other, they absolutely do. It is in our blood to look after our mob. I've heard stories of kids who've been taken to Macca's for a feed but won't eat because they want to take it home to their brothers and sisters who are not there to share it with them.

First Nations people are some of the poorest and most vulnerable people in this country, but we are strong and resilient, and it is culture, community and country that give us strength. So, whilst these reforms are welcome, it is so important that the courts take culture and community into account. There is so much work to be done within the Family Court system, but also, importantly, for our kids even to be on the radar of child services across this country.