Child & Youth Safe Organisations Bill 2022 (No 54)

Wednesday 24 May 2023

[2.56 p.m.]

Ms ARMITAGE (Launceston) - Mr President, I thank the Leader for the briefings today, which I found very useful.  This is an extremely important bill and I rise to indicate my absolute support for the measures it seeks to legislate. 

We have known for some time and as the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse proved, our institutions have utterly failed many children and their families.  The despair and harm that abuse has caused to many victims/survivors and their families and loved ones could never possibly be quantified.  However, we continue to listen, learn, attempt to make things right and, most importantly, ensure this never happens to any child in any institutional setting ever again.

We must do everything we can to prevent the abuse occurring in the first place.  Children and young people are inherently vulnerable and look to adults for guidance, love and care.  The onus on each of us as representatives of the public and as fellow human beings is significant, and we are already subject to a number of obligations to keep a watch on children, young people and vulnerable people, to ensure they and their needs are not abused.

The royal commission reminded us that, sadly, a number of public officials, public servants and institutional employees were themselves responsible for committing terrible acts of abuse against children and young people. 

To this end, I believe the establishment of an Independent Regulator responsible for administering the Child and Youth Safe Organisations Framework provides an additional arms‑length watcher of institutions and the people that work within them, proactively adheres to the principles of the framework and fully implements the Reportable Conduct Scheme within their organisations.

This bill needs to be as child-centred and as easy to navigate as possible.  The combination of a set of expected standards, along with the Reportable Conduct Scheme, creates a number of safeguards and expectations which will ensure that child safe organisations intentionally create a culture where children's safety and wellbeing is the centre of thought, values and action; place emphasis on genuine engagement with and value of children; create conditions that reduce the likelihood of harm to children and young people; create conditions that increase the likelihood of identifying harm; and respond to any concerns, disclosures, allegations or suspicions.

Perhaps one of the most insidious things about the harm that has historically been perpetrated against children and young people in institutional settings is the fact they were committed in circumstances where people placed such significant trust in the organisations and people caring for these vulnerable people.  As the royal commission proved, we need to proactively ask questions, monitoring the engagement between children and young people with those who care for them, and actively respond to concerns, allegations and suspicions when they arise.

The inherent power imbalance between children, young people and their carers and institutions denotes an even greater need for transparency and probing, commensurate with responsibilities they are charged with carrying out.  This means we owe responsibility to institutions and their employees to ensure they are fully educated and fully understand these standards and what is expected of them.  These will be ongoing educational requirements and compliance will need to be continually monitored, both within the organisations and by the Independent Regulator. 

Importantly, the requirements involved in the Reportable Conduct Scheme will need to be clear, unambiguous, and easy to comply with.  Ultimately, this is about protecting the rights of children and young people to live free from abuse and harm.  The easier it is to facilitate that, the more likely it will be that we can ensure children in institutional settings have the chance to grow and develop without being burdened by abuse. 

The suite of enforcement powers the regulator is endowed with to enter premises, interview workers and interview children during own-motion investigations is a very positive step. 

One of the things highlighted in briefings this morning is the complexity and patchwork of oversight we have in Tasmania, and whether it is too complex and too difficult to navigate.  Are we adding to the complexity by the addition of a further independent entity, and do we need a strategy to bring things together for children and others to navigate the system to make it easier? 

I know nobody wants the bill to be held up, but I also note that the Commissioner for Children and Young People would like a firm commitment about where the strategy for the implementation of this is going.  This is a first step in the implementation, but I also note the regulator will be appointed for a five-year period, with review within the first three years. 

I welcome the progress this bill makes towards ensuring that children and young people in institutional settings remain free from abuse in all its forms.  The damage it does to people and their families and loved ones lasts a lifetime and can never be undone.  The next best thing we can hope to do is to do everything possible to make sure it does not happen again, and to put in place a robust set of measures to keep our children and young people safe.  I thank the Leader for bringing this bill forward and I fully support it.