Renee Coffey (Griffith, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I would like to acknowledge the Ngunnawal and Ngambri peoples as the traditional custodians of the land on which we meet here, and I pay my respects to elders past and present. I extend that respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples across our country and to the children and young people whose rights and futures we are speaking about today.

This week marks 18 years since the National Apology to the Stolen Generations. On 13 February 2008, this parliament acknowledged the deep wrong of forced removals and the lasting harm done to children, families and communities. I was here in this very chamber—however, up there in the gallery—as Kevin Rudd delivered this apology. It was a profound experience for us as a nation and a profound experience for me personally—one that ultimately led me to join the Australian Labor Party later that year. Anniversaries like this are not only for reflection; they are a reminder of our responsibility to act and to keep acting, especially when the systems around children still too often fall short.

In my electorate of Griffith, we are a community of families. We see the joy of early years, the persistence of adolescence and the pressure that comes when the basics are harder to afford. We also see how quickly a family can end up dealing with systems that feel bigger than them and how difficult it can be to navigate forms, waiting lists, eligibility rules and countless different channels when what you are really asking for is simple: safety, support and stability for a child.

That's why I rise to support the National Commission for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People Bill 2026 and National Commission for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People (Transitional Provisions) Bill 2026, which will establish an independent national commissioner and national commission dedicated solely to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people. This fills a national gap, ensuring the voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people are strongly reflected in advice to government and that there is a clear, coordinated national focus on systemic issues and our human rights commitments.

The need is urgent. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people face high and persistent levels of disadvantage, and the overrepresentation in child protection and youth justice is stark. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are 11 times as likely to be in out-of-home care as non-Indigenous children and 27 times as likely to be in youth detention as non-Indigenous children. That I am still citing these facts this many years after the first time that I spoke about this is of deep shame to me. Those figures represent children with names, families and futures. They also reflect systems that too often respond late, respond punitively or respond without cultural safety.

In Griffith I have heard from families and community organisations about the importance of early help, stable housing, safe schools and culturally strong supports that wrap around children before crisis hits. I've also heard a consistent message: keep children connected to family, culture and community wherever possible and back community controlled solutions.

This is where the national commissioner matters. The role is designed to promote the rights, interests, development, safety and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people while recognising and building on their strengths. Crucially, it supports children and young people to assert their own rights and interests and ensures their views, needs and experiences shape the policies, programs and services that impact their lives.

The bill also gives the commissioner the practical functions and powers to do the work properly—promoting coordination across Commonwealth entities; advising government on relevant policy and service delivery; undertaking research into systemic barriers; running education programs; conducting inquiries and making recommendations; collaborating with the Human Rights Commission and other relevant bodies; and engaging with international human rights mechanisms where appropriate. This is a systemic reform for a systemic problem. It strengthens accountability across all of government and supports progress on Closing the Gap targets related to children and young people, including the areas where disparities are most severe: in out-of-home care and in youth detention.

This is also why primary legislation is necessary. Interim arrangements can begin important work, and they have, but they do not provide the full authority required to conduct inquiries, make recommendations, report to parliament and use the information-gathering and coordination powers needed to drive lasting change. We have already seen what a dedicated national focus can achieve. Since being established in January 2025, the National Commissioner has been meeting with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community controlled organisations and leaders, and with commissioners, guardians and advocates across jurisdictions, to build strong relationships and identify opportunities for collaboration and change. The commission has been convening networks to address issues affecting children and young people, providing advice to government on policy reform and developing systems to ensure it engages with children and young people in a safe, culturally appropriate and trauma-informed way, including through a child-safe framework.

There is also strong stakeholder support for this reform. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander advocates have called for a legislated national commissioner over an extended period, with more than 70 organisations uniting behind this request. That consensus matters. SNAICC has welcomed the bills as a critical step, pointing to the importance of a strong national voice to strengthen accountability. I would like to thank them for their tireless advocacy over many years in this area. The Australian Human Rights Commission has also welcomed the bills, reinforcing that every child has a right to feel safe, to live with dignity and to have opportunities to thrive. Organisations working directly with children and families have similarly recognised the value of a strong, independent, national role dedicated to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.

Supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people is a cause very close to my heart. In my career before entering this place I have had the great honour of working alongside and in support of so many remarkable Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people. For 13 years, I worked with the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation, most recently as their deputy CEO. In that time, AIEF provided transformational scholarships to more than 1,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. These children, many now adults and who I count among my friends, have been a joy, an inspiration and an honour to get to know and watch as they thrive and flourish in their careers and in their lives.

Like the member for Goldstein, I too would like to acknowledge the work of the Tudor family and the Melbourne Indigenous Transition School, MITS. Through my close work with and observation of the work of AIEF and the Melbourne Indigenous Transition School, it has reinforced something I carry into this place: young people thrive when they are met with high expectations, practical support and a genuine sense of belonging.

I want to acknowledge Aunty Muriel Bamblett and the many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders and community controlled organisations who have been calling for stronger national accountability around Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, especially since SNAICC's 2003 State of denial report but for much longer before that as well.

When speaking on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, I would also like to take this opportunity to acknowledge my dear friend and mentor, Professor Peter Buckskin PSM FACE, who has been on my mind a lot recently. Peter is a Narungga man from the Yorke Peninsula in South Australia. He worked for over 30 years in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education. In his early years he worked as a classroom teacher in Western Australia and South Australia. He's been a ministerial adviser, a superintendent of schools and a senior executive at both state and Commonwealth levels. He retired as the Dean of Aboriginal Engagement and Strategic Projects at the University of South Australia, and before that he was the Dean of Indigenous Scholarships, Engagement and Research.

I was so fortunate to work with Peter during my time with Reconciliation South Australia in the mid-2000s, when he was co-chair. This period of my life and my ongoing friendship with Peter has played a profound role in shaping my understanding of how best to support thriving, proud and strong Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Peter is a strong advocate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children—a passionate believer in the importance of high expectations and quality, culturally grounded education. He's also such a remarkable man.

I want to close with a quote from Peter from when he was asked what his hopes were for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children:

In the words of Martin Luther King, I hope to see a time when our children 'will be judged on the basis of the content of their character, not the colour of their skin'. I hope we have a future where our children have the capacity to keep true to their Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander cultural identity and are honoured for their contribution to Australia as descendants of the oldest living culture of humanity. Finally, I hope we recruit more warriors to champion this work.

It is my hope that the National Commission for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People will do just that.

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