A new national commission for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people will be launched in January. Source: Canberra Times.
It comes almost a year after the Albanese Government announced its response to worsening rates of child removal in First Nations communities.
The move follows years of advocacy from Aboriginal organisations who have urged for more government action into the rising number of children being placed into out-of-home care.
Labor announced the creation of a new national commissioner for Aboriginal children and young people in February, after the latest Closing the Gap report showed only four out of 19 targets were on track to be met.
Four targets, including a goal to reduce Indigenous suicide and the number of children in child protection, were found to be getting worse.
The Minister for Indigenous Australians, senator Malarndirri McCarthy, said the appointment would be an important step to close the gap of disadvantage between First Nations children and other young Australians.
“The over-representation of young people in out-of-home care and youth detention is unacceptable,” Senator McCarthy said.
“The national commissioner will focus on working with First Nations people and organisations on evidence-based programs and policies to turn those figures around.”
In July, the Productivity Commission found national rates of child removal in Indigenous communities was 57.2 per 1000 children, up from 54.2 children in 2019.
This week, the National Children’s Commissioner, Anne Hollonds, called for an overhaul of Australia’s youth justice systems in response to the disproportionate number of First Nations children being detained in prisons.
It’s understood an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander person will appointed to the role ahead of the agency’s opening in early 2025.
FULLS TORY
New agency to establish First Nations children’s commissioner (By Eleanor Campbell, Canberra Times)
