See what can be achieved when governments enable First Nations people to lead
27th November 12-2pm, Custom's House, Brisbane
The clock is ticking - reset the future with community controlled welfare reform in Cape York
It is ten years since Cape York leaders embarked on an unprecedented partnership with Labor governments, state and federal, to trial a radical new way of improving the lives of Indigenous people in Queensland.
At the heart of this courageous and innovative "world first" initiative was the ground-breaking legislation: Families Responsibilities Commission (FRC) introduced into the Queensland Parliament by then Premier Anna Bligh in February 2008.
At Custom's House in Brisbane Tuesday 27 November, local Family Responsibilities Commissioners from Cape York will share their extraordinary experiences paving the way for community led welfare reform.
These local FRC Commissioners, respected for their social and cultural authority and trained in restorative justice conferencing, apply highly targeted conditional welfare where a person has failed to meet a basic obligation such as getting their kids to school.
Together with a suite of carefully co-community designed Cape York Welfare Reform (CYWR) reform initiatives, the FRC represents Australia's most comprehensive and complementary effort to tackle entrenched disadvantaged. The approach is based on the principle of rebuilding and empowering local indigenous agency and authority to support thousands of Cape York families to take control of their lives and build a future.
The clock is ticking on stagnated closing the gap outcomes, and the alarming number of Indigenous children in out-of-home care at 42 percent as stated in the newest Family Matters Report to be released on Tuesday 27th.
Cape York leaders will call again for action whereby individuals and communities are empowered to exercise initiative and pursue opportunity and government is less of a service provider and more of an enabler.
Former Queensland Productivity Commissioner Bronwyn Fredericks will share her work on the Queensland Productivity Commission's 2018 Inquiry into service delivery in Queensland communities, which concluded that the current system is fundamentally broken, and First Nations must be enabled to lead their own solutions. Commissioner Michael Brennan of the Commonwealth Productivity Commission will also talk about its 2018 report, Rising Inequality: a stocktake of the evidence, which highlights Australia's failure to make any inroads into the problem of inherited poverty—despite 28 years of sustained economic growth.
Cape York Partnership CEO Fiona Jose says the best evidence available suggests there is a direct (casual) link between improvements in school attendance and FRC conferences held by local FRC Commissioners.
"The 2013 evaluation provides linked data analysis showing the FRC's conferencing interventions of clients are followed by an increase in school attendance of the children of those conferenced in the period after. This type of linked data analysis sheds light on the mechanics of change at the individual and family level. Similarly, the 2018 review shows FRC intervention extends the time between breach notifications for individuals notified to the FRC," Ms Jose explains.
"The FRC is a restorative justice model that works but we need to keep innovating reforms with our people."
Speakers:
- Jackie Huggins (MC)
- Dep. Premier- Hon. Jackie Trad
- Bronwyn Fredericks - fmr Qld Prod Commissioner, ProVC UQ
- Michael Brennan Chair C'wealth Prod Commission
- Local Cape York FRC Commissioners
- Fiona Jose - CEO Cape York Partnership
- Noel Pearson & other Cape York traditional owners (panel)
- Video message - former Qld Premier Anna Bligh
- FRC Commissioner David Glasgow will be present
