Ged Kearney (Cooper, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Social Services) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak in strong support of this bill, the National Commission for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People Bill 2026. I have to say that I'm very proud to do that while you're in the chamber, Deputy Speaker Scrymgour, because I know that you have been a longstanding champion for this to happen over the years. Thank you for the work that you've done.

I want to acknowledge that I'm standing on the lands of the Ngunnawal and Ngambri people, and I pay respect to their elders, past and present. They are the people who occupied this land long before this building was erected here, long before the nation-state of Australia was even established.

For millennia, the First Peoples of Australia lived on and cared for this continent's land, waterways and environment, passing down their knowledge and cultures, generation to generation, as the oldest continuous culture in the history of this Earth. This is something that we as a nation should be proud of and that we celebrate. Even during the most brutal history of colonisation and invasion, First Nations people have persevered, protecting and nourishing their culture—ensuring its survival in the face of state sanctioned brutality.

But we know the toll that colonisation has taken on First People, a toll that is reflected in cold, hard statistics—a national shame for this country. Nowhere is this more evident than when we look at the challenges facing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. First Nations children and young people face high and persistent levels of disadvantage. They are 11 times more likely to be in out-of-home care and 27 times more likely to be in youth detention than non-Indigenous children. Data released last year by the Australian Institute of Health and Wellbeing revealed that only one in three Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are on track developmentally. Incarceration rates have climbed, suicide rates and out-of-home care rates are getting worse, and the aspirations for healthy baby birth weights have slipped.

Let me be clear. This is not a failure of First Nations people. Unlike some of those opposite, we as a government understand that this is not a moral failing on the part of Indigenous cultures and communities—no. We understand the legacy of colonialism, of structural racism, of institutional punishment and systemic disadvantage. We acknowledge the history of the Frontier Wars and the Stolen Generations. We know that, despite efforts from more recent, well-meaning governments, if policy and laws are created without genuine partnership and power transfer to Aboriginal people, we will not create meaningful change and we will only perpetrate the brutal, racist history.

The Albanese Labor government is committed to improving life outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people. We know that this requires a systems based approach, one that works with and champions First Nations people, creates genuine partnership and truly transforms the lives and future of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. I heard the member for New England's hopes and aspirations for First Nations people, but I fail to understand why he doesn't see that the establishment of this commission will work towards those very goals.

It's why I am honoured to speak to this bill to establish the National Commission for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People. By introducing this bill, we are delivering on our commitment to establish a legislated, independent, empowered commission. This is a bill that has come about after years of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander advocates calling for the establishment of a legislated national commissioner, over an extended period, with over 70 organisations uniting behind this request. We didn't just dream this up. This didn't just drop out of the sky as a good idea. This has come about through long and hard stakeholder consultation, with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and community advocates calling repeatedly for this to happen.

The current and ongoing national commissioner, Adjunct Professor Sue-Anne Hunter, has been involved in developing the bill, and I know that she is in the gallery, in the chamber, with us today. I'll say a bit more about Professor Hunter shortly. I'd also like to acknowledge that Katie Kiss is in the chamber with us today—the national Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner. It's a great honour to have you here, listening to the introduction of this bill.

The national commissioner fills a gap to ensure the voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people are strongly reflected in advice to government. This position provides a strategic, nationally coordinated focus to raise systemic issues and Australia's human rights commitments. The bill will provide an independent, dedicated agency focused on the systemic failures affecting outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people right across Australia. It will drive the accountability to support all governments to achieve better outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. It's truly an important, systemic piece that will help drive system-wide change.

The national commissioner's functions are centred on identifying systemic issues and informing advice to government to directly influence policymaking. This includes powers to inquire into systemic matters affecting the rights, the interests, the development, the safety and the wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people and to make recommendations to government. Importantly, the national commissioner can publicly advocate for the rights, the interests, the development, the safety and the wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people and can amplify their voices and strengths. Already, I know, the commissioner has been meeting with community controlled organisations and leaders—with state, territory and national commissioners and with guardians and advocates—to build stronger relationships and to identify opportunities for collaboration and change.

Sue-Anne Hunter is a First Nations woman with extensive experience in governance and leadership. She has practised as a qualified social worker and is a recognised leader in the First Nations child and family services sector. She, too, has lived and breathed the issues that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families face. She's widely recognised for developing rights based, transformative practice responses that empower Aboriginal people to heal from the continuing effects and processes of colonisation. Her work across these sectors will be vital to ensuring that the rights, the interests and the wellbeing of First Nations children and young people are protected. I have known Sue-Anne for many years, and I know her to be a powerhouse. She will be a powerhouse in this role.

Late last year, when Sue-Anne had been in the role for just a few short weeks, she and I attended a roundtable with young people from across the country in Sydney with Minister Plibersek. This included First Nations kids, and they talked to us about their experience with domestic and sexual violence. It was incredibly powerful for those First Nations kids to have the commissioner there with them. I remember one young Aboriginal person saying that they experienced family and sexual violence and that they would not have survived without their wonderful aunties, who surrounded themselves around that young person, supported them and loved them. It may not have been a traditional response to that child's needs, but it was what they needed. I know that Sue-Anne understands the unique perspective of these young people. I've got to say that I'm really very proud to be working with her.

This legislation will join other work that the Albanese Labor government is doing in partnership with First Nations people to improve the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. One such commitment was demonstrated further this morning when I enjoined the Minister for Social Services to launch Australia's first-ever dedicated plan to end violence against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and children. This was developed in partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and state and territory governments. 'Our Ways—Strong Ways—Our Voices: National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Plan to End Family, Domestic and Sexual Violence 2026-2036' is Australia's new national plan to address the high and disproportionate rates of violence against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and children. It sits on equal footing with the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022 to 2032. The plan announced this morning will be backed by $218.3 million dollars in new funding over four years. As an immediate step, the funding will invest in a national network of up to 40 Aboriginal community controlled organisations to deliver community-led specialist support services that help Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and families who are experiencing family, domestic and sexual violence.

The new funding will support programs like crisis responses, such as mobile teams in remote areas to work with families after a violent incident or safe transport and emergency accommodation; planning to help victims leave violence safely and continued support once they have; therapeutic supports, like community playgroups, where mums and bubs can connect with elders, receive parenting support and be linked to early help and healing; and behaviour change and education, like outreach programs for men and boys. I know just how important this work is. Last year, I visited Kununurra in Western Australia. When I was there, I saw firsthand the impact that such programs are having on young kids. I met with the Ord Valley Aboriginal Health Service and Wunan Health service. The work that they are doing there is unbelievable. It is community controlled, culturally appropriate and immediately responsive to the needs of those communities.

One such program, supported by the Department of Social Services, is the Stronger ACCOs, Stronger Family project. It was designed to strengthen partnerships between Aboriginal community controlled organisations and non-Indigenous service providers in the child and family sector. Through meaningful collaboration, the initiative aims to create a culturally responsive and cohesive system that empowers Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families.

I want to thank everyone who has been involved in the development of this legislation and Our Ways—in particular, the First Nations people who shared their stories with government and who advocated so firmly and persistently for their communities. This legislation doesn't represent the end of this journey but the next step in our shared commitment to support First Nations children and young people. They deserve more. We owe it to them. They deserve to live and grow free from violence. They deserve to live and grow safely in their own homes, on country and with their communities. They deserve to have their strengths acknowledged and celebrated. They deserve the recognition that their communities have the solutions and that they're already doing the work. And they deserve to be supported and to heal. I have to say that I'm proud to be part of a government that will work to turn these words into a lived reality.

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