The Victorian Greens have welcomed the passage of a bill this afternoon to strengthen Victoria's child protection system, but say that while gaps remain they will continue to fight alongside First Nations communities for reform.
After constructive negotiations with the Victorian Labor Government, the Greens were able to secure an acknowledgement in the Children and Health Legislation Amendment (Statement of Recognition) Bill 2023 that:
Removing an Aboriginal child from the care of a parent can disrupt the child's connection to their culture, and cause harm to the child, including serious harm.
The Greens say this will help recognise the inherent harm caused by the removal of an Aboriginal child from parental care, and help push the system to do better.
However, the Greens introduced a number of other amendments to the bill earlier today which were knocked back in the chamber, including requiring the Aboriginal Child Placement Principle (ACPP) to be applied throughout a child's involvement in child protection.
The amendments would have also required the Secretary to explain in a report that all reasonable steps had been taken to apply the ACPP when making a protection order, and prioritised keeping siblings and family groups together when children are removed from their home.
Leader of the Victorian Greens, Samantha Ratnam, said the bill passed today was an important step towards fixing the state's broken child protection system, but that it mustn't be the last.
She said it was important that the Government listened to First Nations communities and the Yoorrook Justice Commission, and be led by them on child protection reform.
As stated by Leader of the Victorian Greens, Samantha Ratnam MLC:
"Victoria's child protection system is broken, and failing First Nations children.
"Today's bill is an important first step towards fixing it, but it can't be the last.
"The Greens will continue to fight alongside First Nations communities to strengthen our system so more First Nations kids can be kept in their parents' care, with their families."
