Judith Adams (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak to Senator Bartlett’s motion. The protection of children from serious abuse and neglect is paramount in our society. The Australian government has great concerns about the continuing increase in the number of child abuse cases; however, responsibility for improving child protection services rests primarily with each state and territory government. In 2006-07 the Australian government will provide an estimated $17.5 billion to support families and children. Over $10 million a year is also provided for a range of early intervention and prevention programs.

The Australian government’s policy focus is on prevention and early intervention strategies, given the research showing children’s early experiences set the stage for their later development in many ways. Senator Bartlett states that there is a need for all political parties to make child protection a national priority. I can assure Senator Bartlett that the Howard government has made this very important issue a priority. There is no doubt that the best outcomes for children will be achieved if the Australian government and the state and territory governments all work together. Child protection is primarily the responsibility of state and territory governments; however, there are areas of joint activity such as prevention and early intervention.

The Community and Disability Services Ministers Conference has agreed that a national approach to child protection—focusing specifically on prevention and early intervention, data development and workforce issues—will be progressed. A cross-jurisdictional working group has been established to progress this work. This will build on work already being done jointly by the Australian government and the state and territory governments, which includes the development and implementation of: firstly, the National Plan for Foster Children, Young People and their Carers, which aims to improve outcomes for children and young people in foster care, including Indigenous young people; and, secondly, the national framework for creating safe environments for children, which focuses on a national approach for increasing the safety of children in their dealings with community service organisations.

You might ask what the government is doing on internet safety. Last week was National Child Protection Week. Senator the Hon. Helen Coonan, Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, and Senator the Hon. Chris Ellison, Minister for Justice and Customs, launched a joint initiative to educate children about the dangers lurking online. Cybersmart Detectives is a joint initiative between the Australian Communications and Media Authority, known as ACMA, and Australian law enforcement agencies. It builds on the Australian government’s $116.6 million package Protecting Australian Families Online, which will provide every Australian family with a free internet filter. The online tool launched nationally last week uses the internet to teach young people key internet safety messages and helps them recognise the danger signs when using online services such as chat rooms. By using Cybersmart Detectives, young people learn about the dangers of giving out personal information on the internet, that they should never meet face to face with someone they have met on the internet without a parent accompanying them and that people in the online environment may not be who they say they are.

National Child Protection Week was an opportunity to remind parents and children about the dangers lurking on the net. I think it is important that parents become more involved and more vigilant in supervising their children online so that, along with the law enforcement agencies, we can crack down on predators and paedophiles, who use increasingly sophisticated means to groom their potential victims. Parents and children can protect themselves online by keeping their personal information private, learning how to save a copy of a conversation in a chat room and blocking people who make them uncomfortable. Children also need to speak up to their parents if they continue to be worried. The internet is just another public place; and just as crimes are committed in our communities they are also committed online. I am proud to be part of this government that remains committed to ensuring all Australians, particularly children and families, can access a safe and secure internet experience.

I would now like to speak about the Stronger Families and Communities Strategy, which commits $490 million, between 2004-05 and 2008-09, for early childhood initiatives and resources that can be used to achieve better outcomes for children, their families and communities. The strategy has proven to be extremely popular, especially throughout Western Australian electorates.

There are four streams to this strategy. The first is Communities for Children, where non-government organisations are funded as facilitating partners in 45 community sites around Australia to develop and implement a strategic and sustainable whole-of-community approach to early childhood development. The second, Early Childhood: Invest to Grow, provides funding for early childhood programs for improved outcomes for young children and the development of tools and resource materials for use by families, professionals and communities supporting families and young children. Third, the Local Answers stream helps strengthen disadvantaged communities by funding local, small-scale, time-limited projects that help communities build skills and capacity to identify opportunities and take action for the benefit of their members. Fourth, Choice and Flexibility in Child Care provides Australian parents with flexible and innovative childcare solutions.

If we can teach adults to be better parents, we can drive down the incidence of abuse and neglect. The website raisingchildren.net.au provides expert, impartial information on raising children, from newborns to eight years of age, in an engaging and user-friendly format. The website has been developed by the Raising Children Network, RCN, a consortium made up of three early childhood organisations: the Smart Population Foundation, the Victorian Parenting Centre and the Centre for Community Child Health at the Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne. This government commissioned the website, providing $4 million over four years under its Stronger Families and Communities Strategy. The Raising Children website provides practical tools and up-to-date information on child health, safety—(Time expired)