News

Westpac partnership scores a goal for isolated netballers
The KiDS CAN grant program has helped a group of Aboriginal girls fulfil their dream to play competitive netball with a grant of $3,800.

The girls from Tabulam, a remote Aboriginal community in northern NSW, were desperate to play competition netball but couldn't afford the required shoes, uniforms and registration fees. For most school children these are taken for granted – but for these girls they were a luxury.

However thanks to the generous donation of $2,500 by Westpac staff to the KiDS CAN grant program, 40 girls in four teams were able to be outfitted and enrolled in the district competition. And the results have been fantastic. Not only have the girls' confidence and drive been boosted, their game has risen to a new level – in the last round of games, all four team won!

The majority of the group are under the care of the grandmothers or aunties. Many of the girls' carers are now coming along to see them play, providing a enjoyable and constructive focus for the families. Boredom is often the reason for many young people in disadvantaged communities going off the rails and getting into trouble. Playing sport takes them beyond their own community, and gives them the opportunity to develop new skills and succeed at something enjoyable.

Other local organisations have now also joined forces in helping the girls – Northern Rivers Community Transport has offered to drive the teams the 120 kilometre return journey to play in the competition each week and volunteers from the community have committed to drive the buses.

Tenterfield local council also donated $300 to the Tabulam team members to ensure their continued success.

Read more on NAPCAN's Child Friendly Australia website HERE

Mullighan Inquiry into the sexual abuse of children in state care in SA
The results of a three-year long inquiry by former Supreme Court Justice Ted Mullighan into the abuse of children in state care in South Australia, is yet another reminder that the scars of abuse last a lifetime, and that past systems have dismally failed.

While acknowledging the enormous pain of those who have endured the horrors of sexual abuse, we must remember that many, many more stories remain untold. Sexual abuse remains the hardest issue to talk about, and we need to know that in the continuing silence of the majority, children continue to suffer.

Though the systems and institutions investigated by Justice Mullighan are long gone, his findings are a timely reminder that these systems and institutions have failed vulnerable children. Institutions and governments do not make great parents. Today most vulnerable children are placed into a family environment in foster care, but surely a far better outcome for these children would be not to have to be in out-of-home care in the first place.

This most recent state-based inquiry into the abuse of children in state care is an opportunity to draw a line in the sand, and develop a national strategy for the prevention of every form of child abuse and neglect, and take ownership of that strategy at every level.

NAPCAN endorses the Federal Government's commitment to develop such a strategy, but this strategy MUST focus on prevention. We can stop the cycle but it will require co-ordinated action by all levels of government and a commitment by each of us to ensure parents rear their children in safe, supportive and nurturing environments. This means the provision of a range of resources, education, and support services to ensure parents have the capacity to be parents. We must unselfishly acknowledge the social and economic hardships that lead to intolerable stress levels facing so many parents and lend them a hand.

Only then will the horrific cycle of child abuse and neglect be prevented. Yes, this will demand an enormous commitment by every Australian, but investing in prevention is an investment in the children and therefore life of our country.

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