CEO Commentary

The best we have to give: toward safer organisations for children

Nov 2017

In August 2016, the Hon. Justice Peter McClellan AM, Chair of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, stated:
We are at an important point in the social history of children in Australia. This Royal Commission represents a one in a lifetime opportunity to acknowledge that we, the entire Australian…

Never doubting the impact of the few

Oct 2017

The great cultural anthropologist Margaret Mead once remarked ‘Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.’
The relationship between scale and impact has been very much on my mind this past week with the release of Families Australia’s …

We need to talk…online exploitation and how pornography harms children

Oct 2017

Two important reports have been issued in the past few months that provide a much-needed focus on child abuse that is perpetrated online and through pornography.
First, Anti-Slavery Australia issued Behind the screens. Online child exploitation in Australia. According to that report, there are now over 150 million online images …

Going bold on child safety and wellbeing

Aug 2017

In terms of protecting children from abuse and neglect in Australia, we have been unable to ‘shift the dial’ from largely piecemeal and reactive responses: we have largely been caught in a cycle of responding to harm rather than (also) investing substantially in early intervention approaches to turn around the incidence of a…

Advancing child safety and wellbeing – report on a national roadshow

Aug 2017

Over the past few months, I have had the privilege of holding discussions with hundreds of people around the country on ways to advance child safety and wellbeing, especially through to the National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children 2009-2020 (the ‘National Framework’). My report on the ‘national roadshow’ …

Commitment, collaboration, common purpose: Child Aware Approaches Conference 2017

May 2017

Thank you to everyone who attended the 5th Child Aware Approaches Conference in Brisbane last week to discuss ways that we can work together to improve the safety and wellbeing of Australia’s children. I wish to thank all our speakers and supporters, in particular, the Australian Government Department of Social Services and th…