Address to the Annual Coalition Meeting

Families Australia Annual Coalition Meeting

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Time of event:  8:30am  
Time of speech: 10:15-10:40am
Chair: Brian Babington
Other speakers: No other speakers – keynote
Length of speech: 30 minutes
Contact on the day:  Stella Conroy 0422 384 000

1. Acknowledgments

Slide 1 – Opening

It’s a great pleasure to address you today and I’d like to thank Brian Babington and Families Australia for the invitation.

I’d also like to acknowledge the Wurundjeri  and Boonwurrung peoples, who are the Traditional Custodians of the Land on which this meeting takes place, and pay my respects to their Elders past and present.

2. Introduction

Slide 2 – The Big Banter

Three months ago I gave the Berry Street Childhood Institute Families Australia Oration, my first speaking engagement as Australia’s inaugural National Children’s Commissioner.

Back then it was autumn, and now the winter has come.

Like the changing seasons between April and now, my work at the Commission has advanced.

And The Big Banter has progressed!

Already I’ve listened to hundreds of children and their advocates across Australia.

I’ve bantered in Queensland and New South Wales

I’ve listened in Tasmania and Victoria.

I’ve learned a great deal from South Australia and the A.C.T.

And over the next month or so I will be travelling to Western Australia and the Northern Territory to continue the Banter.

Of course, during my listening tour, I will not be able to cover absolutely every issue affecting children and young people.

And, in pursuit of the discretion granted to me by the Australian Human Rights Commission Act, I am giving particular attention to children who are at risk or vulnerable.

This does not mean that other children and their advocates aren’t participating in the Banter.

They are!

People have written to me. People have emailed me via kids@humanrights.gov.au. And so far I have received over 300 responses to the

Big Banter survey, from children of all ages in all states and territories.

Children and young people have also been sending me postcards with messages such as the one on Slide 3.

I have been conducting workshops with children and young people and they have been documenting their views for me on butchers paper – like Slide 4 shows.

And in saying that, I encourage everyone in this room to engage the young people you represent with The Big Banter survey.

It’s available online and the web address is somethingincommon.gov.au/thebigbanter.

Because The Big Banter is still ongoing, I am not yet able to draw firm conclusions about the priorities which will frame my term.

What I can do, however, is share with you the authentic child voice by talking about some stories I’ve heard so far.

Slide 5 – Theatre therapy

This photo is the logo of a theatre company and alternative school which runs a fantastic arts based therapy program for high risk young people in Wodonga, Victoria.

The 12 to 15 year olds that are involved may be described as ‘at risk’.

Some of them are out of school; some are involved with juvenile justice; and others are in contact child protection and welfare agencies.

When I visited these young people, they performed a play for me that explored a number of themes relevant to their lives.

Some of the key themes were alienation from school, exposure to bullying and violence, and the importance of family and siblings no matter how hard it gets.

This group also spoke about their future, their ambitions and their plans.

In particular, they highlighted how great it was to make supportive friendships at the school.

Slide 6 – Pontville

This photo is an external shot of Pontville Alternative Place of Detention.

Pontville is an immigration detention centre designed to hold unaccompanied minors seeking asylum in Australia.

I might also point out that I find it misleading to call it an ‘alternative place of detention’, considering it is a secure facility with high external and internal fences from which the boys are not free to come and go.

When I visited Pontville a month or so ago, there were around 250 boys detained there.

Myself and a colleague interviewed groups of boys from various backgrounds, covering six language groups.

I also spoke to staff at the facility and had a tour of the centre.

A number of the boys told me about their experiences in detention and what issues most concerned them.

Some of the boys expressed worry about the length of time they had been detained, and the uncertainty about when they would be released into community detention.

A number of boys had been in detention for more than six months, and those who had been there for prolonged periods presented with significant anxiety, depression and feelings of hopelessness.

They also raised concerns about the gaol-like environment, self-harming and suicidal thoughts among their numbers.

Slide 7 – Pontville quotes

Here are some of their words, when we asked them about their lives in detention:

Even if you make this place heaven it is not enough for us because we feel like we are in a cage. We feel people see us like animals in a cage.

Four months we have been staying here. Our request is they should get us out of here when we are fit and healthy, not when we are crazy.

Do Australians want us to get out of here crazy?

We stay up all night and sleep all day. We don’t want to go to school because it upsets us to see others free.

At school people stare and laugh at us which makes us feel sad.

We are getting crazy pressure from our families. At 3am if you come here you will see people walking around like crazy because they can’t sleep. There are going crazy so people cut themselves.

We are fed up with people telling us we are going to get out. We don’t mind living on the street, we just want to get out.

It saddens me to hear from these children and young people about their fear and uncertainty, and distress at ongoing detention.

As children they are developmentally and emotionally very vulnerable, and this is why the Convention on the Rights of the Child stipulates that detention should be a last resort and for the shortest possible time.

Slide 8 – Bimberi Youth Justice Centre photo

When I visited Bimberi Youth Justice Centre in June, the young people prepared a barbecue lunch.

Two of the girls at the Centre said that they didn’t like doing activities with the boys and, that at times, they felt a bit intimidated.

Later when I sat with a group of boys, I asked them about how they felt about going to court.

The group said that there were lots of people in the courts, including police, judges, court officers, social workers, and that this was very intimidating, and that they generally just look down. They also said they weren’t really sure what was happening there, or what they had to do.

One young Aboriginal boy said that he felt like crying because of the shame.

Slide 9 – James Meehan photo

The young people from James Meehan High School in Macquarie Fields, New South Wales, told me about a whole range of issues impacting on children’s rights.

They said:

Everyone has the right to love and marry who you like.

Everyone should be treated equally.

There should be a limit of two alcoholic drinks per person per day, if you choose to drink alcohol at all.

There should be more opportunities for young people to learn from older people.

There should be no violence, bullying and everyone should feel safe.

Slide 10 – Northfield Primary School

Young children in Out-of-school hours care at Northfield Primary School in South Australia shared their views with me, which you can see on the colourful butchers paper.

They said:

Everyone should be safe.

That there should be no guns.

Everyone should have a place to live.

There should be a peace code so that everyone speaks kindly and is a peace maker.

Slide 11 – Roving reporter

Where I’ve been able to do so, I’ve also been asking a young person to accompany me during The Banter, to act as a Roving Reporter. 16-year-old Adrian Bury did fine job as the Roving Reporter when I visited the ACT last month.

And I’d like to play you a video of his report.

Slide 12 – Stories from The Big Banter survey

Other than face-to-face bantering with groups of children, I’ve also received stories from children and young people online.

One 10 year old girl in Victoria who completed The Big Banter survey told me about her thoughts on asylum-seeking children:

She said:

Young children from different countries who come on the ships should be allowed to stay in Australia because they’re young and they need to be safe from what’s happening in their country.

A 15 year old boy from Queensland who completed the survey said:

Police are always questioning me on my way home. I think they do this because I am a south pacific islander and they must think I am going to start a fight or something.

An older girl from the A.C.T. wrote about not knowing how to get help, and said:

Sometimes my friends need help but don’t know where to go or don’t want to make a fuss.

Throughout The Big Banter, I have been holding forums with child advocates – people like yourselves – Slide 13

I’ve been presenting at conferences and giving lots and lots of addresses!

Slide 14 – Speeches. And lots of them!

My inaugural address was here, in Melbourne. To members of this group, Families Australia.

I’ve spoken at the Family Law Pathways Network about the need to privilege the voice of children in the family law system.

I’ve spoken at the Network of Community Activities Conference about the importance of children’s right to play in enriching childhoods.

I’ve spoken at the 5th SNAICC National Conference about the importance of hearing young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices.

Tuesday last week I spoke at the Multicultural Youth Advocacy National Forum about listening to children from refugees backgrounds.

And this time last Thursday I addressed The Alannah and Madeline Foundation about bullying, young people and the law.

In fact, I can’t stay with you for too much longer today because I’m giving another speech at 1:30, at the Castran Centre Human Rights

Law Conference! So I’ve been pretty busy.

I’ve been listening intently.

And I’ve enjoyed the entire process.

Slide 15 – Justice Reinvestment and Access to Justice

I’ve also continued my collaborative work with my fellow Commissioners.

In May 2013 I joined Commissioner Gooda as a Justice Reinvestment Champion.

The photo on this slide is from a recent visit to the Bourke community to explore opportunities for justice reinvestment.

Justice reinvestment is the idea that a portion of public funds, that would have been spent on covering the costs of law and order, imprisonment and tertiary care arrangements in communities that have a high concentration of offenders, is instead invested in community programs, services and activities aimed at addressing the underlying causes of crime, dislocation and disengagement in those communities.

I’m also working with Commissioner Innes – the Disability Discrimination Commissioner – to help address the access to justice issues faced by children and young people with disabilities who need support with communication.

The Commission has prepared an Issues Paper outlining five key barriers to justice experienced by people, including children and young people, with disability.

I encourage participants here today to make submissions.

Submissions are due by 9 August and you can do this online at humanrights.gov.au.

Slide 16 – Royal Commission

I’ve also met with Justice Peter McClellan who is Chairing the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

I will be making a submission to address the Royal Commission’s first Issues Paper on Working with Children Checks.

We are also considering a submission on the Second Issues paper on ‘Towards Healing’.

Slide 17 – BackMeUp

I am the 2013 spokesperson for the Commission’s online BackMeUp campaign.

This campaign, which is in its second year, aims to empower young people so they can take safe and effective action when they witness cyber bullying.

Celebrity artist Ruby Rose has agreed to continue on as our Ambassador.

Slide 18 – What you say matters

The development of young people’s resources for the Racism Stops with Me Campaign is another area of Commission work which I have been involved in recently.

As part of the campaign, we recently launched a resource called What you say matters to equip young people with useful information about what racism is, why it happens, who experiences it, where it happens, why it’s a problem, what the law says and, most importantly, what young people can do when they experience of witness racism.

Shannon Williams, otherwise known as Brothablack, and some students from James Meehan High School worked with us to develop a hip hop track and video clip which would send a clear message that racism is not ok, and that racist words have a hurtful and destructive impact.

I encourage you all to go onto the What you say matters section of the website and help to circulate it around to people that you know. Slide 19 – Report to parliament

We are also working full steam ahead to write our first report to Parliament.

As you know, under the Commission’s legislation, I must report annually regarding the enjoyment and exercise of human rights by children in Australia.

The report will be tabled in Parliament later this year.

Slide 20 – get involved

I’ve given you an update about The Big Banter, and the stories I’ve heard.

Listening to children and their advocates is critical in my role because, as National Children’s Commissioner, I am guided by a child rights perspective grounded in the articles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

For this reason, I urge everyone in this room to get involved in The Big Banter.

Tell me about the issues affecting the children you advocate for.

Support the children you represent to have their own say by filling in The Big Banter survey online or sending me a postcard. I have a bundle with me today for you to take.

My survey can be found online at somethingincommon.gov.au/thebigbanter.

Thank you.