Statement to South Australian Parliament Round Table Forum

Statement on the taking of Aboriginal children

In response to significant and well documented, over-representation of Aboriginal children in out of home care as compared to non-Aboriginal children, Nunga Babies Watch in partnership with the Grannies Group demand that the South Australian government act immediately to introduce change that will keep Aboriginal children with family and or in kinship care.

1. We call on the South Australian government to give Aboriginal communities the independent right to make decisions for their families. We are the people who should be making the decisions about our children. Our decisions come from our communities and are based in cultural obligations, kinship care and spiritual connections. We have the knowledge to care for our families, especially our children.

2. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle (ATSICPP) must be accompanied by a ‘check list’ that shows the Department of Child Protection (DCP) working transparently and actively, using all ATSICPP Elements to place an Aboriginal child(ren) in kinship care. Children taken from our care by the DCP are at higher risk of losing their identity and cultural connections with their families and community. A loss of identity places our people at risk of entering the juvenile justice system, mental health systems and further incarceration over a lifetime.

3. Government legislation must ensure the DCP is not at risk of being opportunistic, coercive, discriminatory and racist and Social Workers abide by the AASW Code of Ethics and professional training. Decisions made by the DCP cause ongoing, inter-generational trauma. Our people continue to suffer the loss of babies and children, breaking family connections forever.

4. The Department of Child Protection must be held accountable by providing evidence to Aboriginal families that show legislated practises are enacted and implemented. We demand that the DCP actively implement all elements of the ATSICPP and associated Active Efforts.

5. Ambiguous wording used in proposed amendments by Rachel Sanderson, Minister for Child Protection, to the Children and Young People (Safety) Act related to a child’s ‘best interests’ and adoption must not be open to interpretation. We demand an end to the arbitrary taking of our children and their placement in non-indigenous settings. We are strongly and irrevocably opposed to the adoption of our children from non-kinship, out-of-home, residential care and or foster care. We do not want the ‘assimilation’ of our children to continue, nor do we want a silent continuation of the Stolen Generation.

6. An independent tribunal must be established whereby the DCP is held accountable for failure to implement government legislation and to ensure Aboriginal people have a voice. Interpreters and legal advice must be available and or present when decisions are made about the taking of our babies and children from non-English speaking Aboriginal people.

7. Without delay the Office for the Commissioner for Aboriginal Children and Young People must be given independent powers. We the Aboriginal community want our voice to be heard with respect and dignity of basic human rights in all matters affecting our lives. We know our people; we want the right to make decisions about our children by Aboriginal people for Aboriginal people.

8. We urge the South Australian government to implement a model practice similar to Victorian and Queensland governments who have aligned themselves by giving these rights to Aboriginal community. The time is now to work in partnership with forward thinking, to address a national crisis that is shining a spotlight on states that are bringing about change and those that are not.

* Nunga Babies Watch and the Grannies Group, 30 October 2021 Statement on the taking of Aboriginal children

* Statement presented to Parliament December 6th 2021