Rachel Siewert (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

  (i) 26 May 2017 marks the 20 year anniversary of the historic report, Bringing Them Home: Report of the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from Their Families, and

  (ii) 26 May is Sorry Day, a day to acknowledge and recognise members of the stolen generations;

(b) acknowledges:

  (i) the ongoing impacts of the intergenerational effects on the stolen generations and their families,

  (ii) that a disproportionate number of Aboriginal children are still in out-of-home care,

  (iii) that the 2016 report of the Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care (SNAICC), Family Matters, found that:

(A) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are almost 10 times more likely to be removed by child protection authorities than non-Indigenous children, and

(B) the population of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children removed by the child protection system is likely to triple by 2035, and

  (iv) children in out-of-home care experience poor outcomes on a range of indicators; and

(c) calls on state, territory and Commonwealth governments, as a matter of urgency, to implement the recommendations contained in the report of SNAICC.

James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a short statement.

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for one minute.

James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The government acknowledges the important work of the Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care in supporting better outcomes for Indigenous children, including children in out-of-home care. The government cannot support this motion as child protection systems are the responsibility of state and territory governments. Work is already underway to support better outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island children through the National Framework for Protecting Australia's Children, in which the secretariat has a central role. The government is continuing to work with the states and territories and Indigenous communities to assist Indigenous families and reduce the overrepresentation of their children in the child protection system as much as possible.

Question agreed to.