A group of powerful advocates have thrown support behind a dedicated national commissioner for First Nations children. The first of its kind, the role would be tasked with addressing disadvantage and it's hoped could help close the gaps in health and education.
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00:00 A caucus with a clear call.
00:04 What we are calling for today is to have a national commissioner for Aboriginal children
00:10 and young people.
00:11 At the largest Aboriginal child welfare conference in the country, advocates say the status quo
00:17 is failing.
00:19 They want to turn over a new page.
00:21 Our children are over-represented in all the wrong ways, in out of home care, in the youth
00:28 justice systems, in failures in education.
00:31 These are system failures.
00:33 Government being called to act rather than react later.
00:37 It's significantly faster to stand up a national Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children's
00:42 commissioner than it would be to call a royal commissioner.
00:45 This could be in place before the end of the year and certainly the announcement could
00:49 come a lot faster.
00:51 At the other end of the country in Canberra, neither the federal government nor opposition
00:56 are making promises.
00:57 When contacted by the ABC, Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth said determining
01:03 the functions of a national advocate is underway through a government plan.
01:07 However, what form it may take isn't particularly clear and there are no hard timelines for
01:14 when such a role would be created.
01:16 For now, the federal focus firmly on The Voice, which launched its local campaign in Darwin
01:22 today.
01:24 It's here on the ground in Darwin arguing that irrespective of whether a voice to parliament
01:29 is successful or not, a national commissioner dedicated to Aboriginal and Torres Strait
01:34 Islander children is essential for improving outcomes for young children.
01:39 [BLANK_AUDIO]