Thursday, 30 November 2023

Child protection

Georgie CROZIER (Southern Metropolitan) (12:30): (389) As Mrs Deeming is not in the house, I will ask a question of the Minister for Children. Minister, I refer to the Commission for Children and Young People’s recently released report Let Us Learn: Systemic Inquiry into the Educational Experiences of Children and Young People in Out-of-Home Care. The inquiry found there was an 83 ‍per cent increase in the number of children aged nine to 11 in residential care and a 33 per cent increase in children aged six to eight since 2019. Minister, how can you guarantee the safety of these young children, given the high numbers of sexual exploitation, abuse, criminal activity, self-harm and other serious incidents that are occurring in residential care?

Lizzie BLANDTHORN (Western Metropolitan – Minister for Children, Minister for Disability) (12:31): Thank you, Ms Crozier, for the question. There certainly is a lot in that question, from the commissioner’s Let Us Learn report through to residential care, the age of children in residential care and also the sexual exploitation of children and vulnerable children in particular. So there is a lot in that one question.

Can I firstly thank the commissioner for children and young people for her report. This is a report I have discussed with her a number of times and indeed also with the commissioner for Indigenous children and young people Meena Singh. This report is an important report, and it is one of the reasons that I am particularly excited about the new Premier having seen the opportunity to create a portfolio for children and indeed a more holistic approach to bringing together the needs of vulnerable children and young people, and in particular children and young people in our care system, with our early education and care settings, our education settings and of course our maternal and child health settings. We know that families and children do not exist in silos, and the opportunity to bring together and wrap all of those services around children and young people is indeed so important and does go to many of the matters that the commissioner has raised in the Let Us Learn report. She herself, both in relation to the work she has done through Let Us Learn and in other comments she has made around her annual report and the creation of this portfolio, has also recognised that the government is prioritising children and young people, particularly vulnerable children and young people, in the creation of a holistic portfolio that goes to both child protection and family services alongside the education services and the maternal and child health services that allow us to deliver for these children and young people.

To go specifically to the elements that you have raised in relation to residential care, children and young people who end up in our residential care facilities are amongst the most vulnerable and in many instances the most complex of children in our care system. They are children who have highly complex needs, from their health and wellbeing needs through to their education needs and the daily services that we wrap around those children. Indeed, as we have talked about a number of times in this chamber in relation to many of the questions that Dr Bach has asked in the past, the wraparound services that we provide around these children are so important and the budget investment that we have made to ensure that we are providing wraparound services around all of the children in residential care is crucial. Those budget announcements also included additional supports for combating the exploitation of children and vulnerable young people in care. In particular we are funding extra sexual exploitation practice leads so that we are across the entire state, across all 17 regions, rolling out a response to those revolting people who might prey on children and young people in our care system who are most vulnerable.

Georgie CROZIER (Southern Metropolitan) (12:34): Minister, thank you for that response. As you identified, there are some very vulnerable children that are under the care of the state. This increase in numbers, I think, is a concern to all. Minister, can you guarantee that none of those young children, with the increase in numbers that has been identified since the commissioner released the report, have experienced any form of harm?

Lizzie BLANDTHORN (Western Metropolitan – Minister for Children, Minister for Disability) (12:35): Thank you, Ms Crozier, for the question. Indeed, as I said, the children and young people in our residential care facilities in particular but children across the whole of our child protection and family services system are vulnerable children. They are complex people. Very, very sadly there are people in our community who seek to prey on people of all ages who might be vulnerable or have complex needs. What we are doing is investing more in the child protection and family services system than ever before – more than $3 billion in recent times. Our budget very specifically went to providing money for sexual exploitation practice leads, as I said, across the entire state so that we are ensuring that we are working with police –

Georgie Crozier interjected.

Lizzie BLANDTHORN: Sorry, Ms Crozier, would you allow me the opportunity to complete my answer to your question. As I said, we are investing more in child protection and family services than ever before – more than $3.1 billion in recent times. In just the last budget we invested significantly in seeking to combat those people who seek to prey on children and young people in vulnerable positions.