Cape York Institute for Policy and Leadership CEO Kirsty Davis recently sat down with spoken ABC Radio about what needs to happen next following the Queensland Government’s response to the Child Safety Commission of Inquiry.
Kirsty discussed the need to move the focus of child protection further upstream – tackling the conditions that place children at risk before families reach crisis point.
Listen to the interview below.
While the Queensland Government has accepted 32 of the inquiry’s 52 recommendations in full and a further 16 in principle, Cape York Institute is calling for a stronger focus on parental responsibility, family capability and prevention.
For Cape York, that means confronting the impact of alcohol, passive welfare, chronic unemployment and poor school attendance alongside giving parents the practical support and opportunities they need to build safe and strong homes.
“Alcohol management policy and school attendance policy are child safety policy, and children need this government to be strong on adult accountability while shutting down the grog-related harm and drug supply lines feeding family collapse,” Kirsty said during her recent interview.
Central to the Institute’s position is the Family Responsibilities Commission – an Indigenous-led model that works with local commissioners, families and services to restore responsibility and address problems before they escalate.
Kirsty said the Government now had an opportunity to make prevention and parental responsibility a much stronger part of its reforms.
“The Crisafulli Government has a genuine chance to achieve what past administrations failed by establishing early parental accountability as a core pillar of prevention and matching it with practical support – including the Family Responsibility Commission as the enforcement mechanism, and parenting programs, addiction treatment, and work opportunities for stability,” she said.
You can read more about these submissions here.
FOR THE LOVE OF OUR CHILDREN
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