Lidia Thorpe (Victoria, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

THORPE () (): I move the second reading amendment standing in my name:

At the end of the motion, add ", but the Senate:

(a) notes:

(i) more than 22,900 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people are in out-of-home care,

(ii) the child protection system, which was built to remove children from their families, continues to inflict harm on First Nations families,

(iii) the Productivity Commission's inquiry report, A path to universal early childhood education and care, has found that governments continue to fail on their commitments to shared decision making and supporting the community-controlled sector,

(iv) improving outcomes for First Nations communities starts with supporting children and allowing First Nations communities to self-determine their own solutions for caring for young people; and

(b) calls on the Government to:

(i) commit to shared decision making and handing over control of services for First Nations young people and families to the community-controlled sector,

(ii) ensure accountability in funding for early years by prioritising community-controlled organisations delivering services and outcomes for families, and

(iii) provide additional supports for smaller early years organisations to develop their own enterprise agreements".