weekly hansard - Queensland Parliament - Queensland Government

2632 Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 23 Aug 2005
children subject to these agreements will be afforded the same rights and privileges as a child under the
existing child protection order regime.
This proposal also requires that the first option for care to be considered is placing the child with
the extended family if appropriate. I really welcome the proposal that the definition of the extended
family is to be amended to introduce the concept of kin and kinship. While I recognise that this is
important from a cultural perspective with Indigenous groups, I believe that it will also recognise other
social relationships where families often have close relationships with individuals who are not actually
related. I am sure many of us have grown up calling someone uncle and aunty when in reality they are
just good family friends and not relatives at all.
I would like to take the opportunity provided by this legislation to deal with the issue of care by
extended families. The minister is well aware that in many cases relations of the birth parents take
responsibility for the upbringing of children and do so at considerable personal and social cost, not just
financial cost. These arrangements are not just best for the child, as identified in this legislation, but also
save the state an enormous financial burden. It is in this context that I raise with the minister the matter
of carer payments to grandparents or other family members like uncles and aunts.
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER (Mr Wallace): Order! I remind the member for the Burdekin that that bill is
before the House.
Mrs MENKENS: I would like the minister to comment on clause 28 which amends section 91
dealing with appeals against decisions. The intention of this clause is to exclude from the appeal
mechanism appeals against a decision to remove a child from a carer who is placed under a care
agreement. As the minister has stated, these care agreements are a consequence of an agreement
between the chief executive and the child’s parents. Further, the time frame for placements under care
agreements are limited to an initial 30 days. The explanatory notes then go on to indicate that if the
circumstances leading to the removal of the child result in a cancellation, suspension or amendment of
the approval these are reviewable decisions. I ask the minister to explain what process is used if a child
is to be removed with the parents approval? Is it that if the parents withdraw the approval for the care
order it just becomes null and void and therefore is not appealable?
An essential aspect of this proposal is the introduction of a certificate of approval for carers. This
requires that the department undertake the necessary checks on the antecedents of not only the
proposed career but also other adults who reside in the residence where care is to be approved. It is a
reality that these checks are not just desirable but sadly in today’s society essential. I note that because
of the emergent connotations of these voluntary arrangements there is a provision for provisional
certificates to permit the full process to be undertaken whilst care arrangements are established.
As the minister has mentioned, the CMC report made specific recommendations regarding the
care of Indigenous children who represent almost 25 per cent of children in the child protection system.
Obviously, this overrepresentation of Indigenous children is a symptom of underlying societal
disadvantage, which is a challenge for government at all levels to address. Unfortunately, this legislation
also has the challenge of dealing with the realities uncovered by the CMC foster care inquiry and
accordingly provides for the recognition of recognised Indigenous organisations or individuals so that
Indigenous children can receive culturally sensitive care.
The minister is well aware of previous difficulties that have occurred in the administration of
Aboriginal and Islander child-care agencies, the ACCAs, and the resultant defunding of many of these
groups. While the opposition supports the proposals in relation to the involvement of recognised
Indigenous entities, I must emphasise recommendation 8.5 of the commission which addressed one of
the key failures of the department of families and requires that the Indigenous child placement principle
specifically states that a placement decision can only be made if it is in the best interests of the child.
I have noted the comments by the Minister for Energy and Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander Policy who, because he supported this recommendation that may result, in some cases, in
Indigenous children being placed in the care of white carers, was accused of supporting another stolen
generation. This is just inflammatory radical scaremongering. I support Minister Mickel. I presume and
have no doubt that the minister opposite does as well. All this legislation says is that the safety of the
children must be the primary focus. The attitude expressed by some that any care must be with
Indigenous carers regardless is exactly what caused the circumstances that led to the previous scandal
with foster-carers. I take this opportunity to remind the minister and the department of other provisions in
the principles relating to administration of the act—in particular, that families have the primary
responsibility for the upbringing, for the protection and for the development of their children and that the
preferred way of ensuring a child’s wellbeing is through the support of the child’s family.
As an introduction to my further comments may I also emphasise subsection 5(2)(d), which states
that powers conferred under this act should be exercised in a way that is open, fair and respects the
rights of people affected by their exercise. This bill introduces a provision that will enable the chief
executive or a delegated officer to release confidential information subject to specific child focused
criteria. With the recognition of the kinship arrangements in this legislation, it is obviously appropriate
that they be provided with the necessary information if they are to participate in the decision-making