Steve Irons (Swan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last Friday morning I was invited by radio station 6PR to speak about my experience as a foster child and also to help promote the concept of ‘every child needs a great family’. The 6PR interview was held at Forrest Place in the Perth CBD, a place that Robert Menzies addressed crowds in years ago. The interviewer was Simon Beaumont, who handled the interview with passion and with the necessary sensitivity required for the subject. I was proud to be able to talk about the positive experiences I had as a foster child. I was fostered by the Irons family in the early sixties, was embraced by the family as one of their own and immediately gained four siblings. One of those siblings is my sister Lucy, who will be in Parliament House this week with Vision Australia. It will be great to catch up with her.

The need to recruit more foster carers is real and critical. Over the past five years there has been a steady increase in the number of children coming into the care of the Department for Child Protection and non-government fostering agencies across WA. There are five types of foster care: respite care, emergency care, short-term care, medium-term care and long-term care. Children come into foster care for a number of reasons, varying from physical and sexual abuse, violence and neglect through to parental problems such as drug and alcohol abuse and relationship problems. These children need love and care, along with help to raise their self-esteem and reduce their stress. They need to live their lives and enjoy their lives in the way that most children in our society do. I would urge anyone who is contemplating fostering to take the step over the threshold and commit to helping a child or children in need. I would not be where I am today if the Irons family had not made that commitment.