Speech - Queensland Family and Child Commission 2023/24 Annual Report

I take this opportunity to speak to the committee’s report into the 2023-24

Queensland Family and Child Commission’s annual report. At the outset, I thank the

committee, led by the committee chair and member for Nicklin, for their work. I

welcome the continued opportunity to unpack the failings of the previous

government in this space. I agree with the opening sentiments of the member for

Maiwar about the broad work that the commission undertakes, which is often in

areas that people do not understand or are not aware of, right across the child

safety spectrum.

I commence my contribution by looking deeply into the ‘exiting youth detention’

references made in the commission’s report. They found that ‘transition plans and

rehabilitation programs are not as effective as they could be’ and that there are

‘negative community views about young people’, making recommendations that

inevitably became this government’s policy platform. There was also a very clear

comment made that—

In February 2023, the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) raised concerns with us

regarding 13 young people who had been detained in a watch house for a period

of 25 to 32 days.

That is more than three weeks and more than four weeks. The report went on to say

that those concerns ‘came on the back of a slew of evidence’ so was irrefutable.

As we have heard in earlier contributions, that number has been substantially

reduced. Whilst any on that list is too many; it is in a substantially better place than

we discovered then. This report also discussed in detail the crossover cohort. The

QFFC undertook a statistical study into the crossover between the youth justice and

child protection systems to provide data from different perspectives. The fast facts of

that study showed—and I will comment at length on the study's findings—

A significant proportion of young people living in Queensland youth detention

centres are currently subject to a child protection order

• As at 30 June 2023, 20.7% of young people living in Queensland youth detentions

centres (51 out of 246) were subject to both a supervised youth justice order and a

child protection order.

The report also says—

In 2023— this is, once again, the period of time that this study refers to— First Nations

children were almost three times more likely than non-First Nations children to be on

both child protection and youth justice orders.

Probably one of the most alarming statistics to be extracted from this study is—

A significant proportion of young people who have been identified as serious repeat

offenders ... are currently subject to a child protection order

• As at 30 June 2023, of the 452 Queensland young people classified as SROs—

serious repeat offenders— 133 (29.4%)— almost 30 per cent— had an active child

protection order. More than half of young people who had been in youth justice

supervision during 2020-21 had also had an interaction with the child protection

system in the last five years.

I guess this study was part of the reason for the change that was undertaken in the

Queensland parliament 12 months ago. In direct response to the findings and

outcomes in this report, the Crisafulli LNP government is quite grateful for the

opportunity to discuss reforms around blue cards. The Crisafulli government is getting

on with the job of keeping our children safe by reviewing and strengthening the blue

card system.

We provided access to free kindy. In our first year we announced the free kindy

program, giving eligible children 15 hours per week of free kindy for up to 40 weeks

per year. It took Labor a number of years to pass legislation around child safe

organisations. The Crisafulli government is bringing forward the Reportable Conduct

Scheme, strengthening protections for children sooner.

In my last few seconds, I think it is important to point out the work that has been

undertaken by the child safety minister in commissioning the inquiry into child safety

in Queensland. Whilst that body of work is about to be undertaken, the work in this

report only touches the surface of what we will see come out of that commission of

inquiry