Child safety must be national priority – Children’s Guardian
NSW Children’s Guardian, Rachael Ward, has joined a call for child rights and safety to be made a National Cabinet priority.
A statement released by the Australian Children’s Commissioners, Guardians, and Advocates (ACCGA) forum highlighted the nationwide implications of the In Plain Sight report of the Queensland Child Death Review Board.
Ms Ward endorsed the forum’s findings that the report exposed longstanding national issues, including fragmented accountability, barriers to information-sharing, and the persistent minimisation of child sexual abuse across systems intended to keep children safe.
‘Making child rights and safety a National Cabinet priority would help focus our efforts across jurisdictions and borders to respond to an issue that is too often minimised or hidden,’ Ms Ward said.
Child sexual abuse is a profound national concern with long-term consequences for children, families, and communities – undermining wellbeing, social cohesion, and future prosperity. (ACCGA statement)
‘I support and endorse the forum’s call for zero tolerance of child abuse, requiring strengthened and coordinated child safeguarding laws, integrated cross-sector and cross-jurisdictional reform to uphold the right of every child to be safe and feel safe,’ Ms Ward said.
