ADJOURNMENT

Ms WITTY (Melbourne) (19:45): As the parliament comes to a close, I've put on my pyjamas to highlight the great work of the Pyjama Foundation. Speaker, I want you to think of a 10-year-old child in your life. Maybe it's your child or a niece or nephew, or maybe you can think of yourself at that age.

Life as a 10-year-old in Australia is really pretty great. There's nothing much to worry about except maybe who gets the front seat of the car or who's going to choose what to watch on family night. They are the kinds of problems children should have—the little frustrations that come with growing up in a safe and loving home.

These kids know they are loved and that someone is there when they need it. For kids in out-of-home care, the reality is completely different. It's a childhood shaped not by petty sibling fights but by fear and uncertainty.

That was the reality for a little boy that I had in my care. Let's call him Matt. Matt and his family were refugees.

Instead of fighting with siblings, he witnessed war all around him. His mother finally got him out of that country and into Australia, believing it to be a safe place—a place where a kid could be just a kid. Then the unthinkable happened.

One night, someone broke into their family home and violently attacked his mother right in front of him. After that night, due to her own trauma, Matt found himself in foster care. After experiencing all of this in his young life, how can we expect Matt to walk into a classroom and thrive?

But that was Matt's reality. Matt came into my care when he was 10 years old. When he arrived, I didn't know his full story, but I knew he was a wonderful kid.

At home he was kind and caring, but at school I heard a very different story. His teachers described a child who was disruptive and who was always getting into trouble, and it didn't make sense to me. So one day I sat down with Matt and asked him what was really happening.

He told me that because he had moved school so many times due to different foster care placements, he had fallen far behind. He felt embarrassed, and he felt he wasn't smart enough. So he decided it was easier to become the naughty kid.

He wasn't a bad kid; he was a traumatised child trying to protect himself. As with many kids experiencing trauma, often the behaviour we see on the outside is a reflection of the pain we cannot see on the inside. Children don't need to be labelled; they need to be understood.

They need someone to believe in them. That's why I believe so deeply in the work of the Pyjama Foundation. The mission is beautifully simple: to give children in out-of-home care someone in their corner.

Every week more than 1,200 children and young people across Australia are supported by Pyjama Angels. Since 2004, more than 19,000 children have been supported through more than 1.2 million hours of mentoring, with volunteers reading more than three million books alongside children in care. These aren't just impressive numbers; they represent children who have someone showing up for them.

Matt was matched with a Pyjama Angel and received tutoring support. Things changed almost overnight. He grew confidence.

His learning improved. His behaviour at school changed dramatically because he got the help he needed from someone who believed in him and helped him discover what he was capable of. One afternoon, when I was picking Matt up from school, his teacher called me over and made him stand next to me.

She said, 'Matt, you don't know how lucky you are to have Sarah in your life.' The truth is, Matt wasn't lucky. There was nothing lucky about witnessing violence, nothing lucky about losing his family, and nothing lucky about carrying trauma that no child should ever experience. He deserves safety and stability.

He deserved the chance to learn without fear, and every child deserves exactly the same. The statistics tell us why this work matters. Around 60 per cent of children in out-of-home care have developmental concerns.

More than 60 per cent experience mental health concerns. Only 57 per cent complete year 12, compared to the usual 97 per cent of young Australians overall. In Victoria, more than 200 children are matched with a pyjama angel, but another 129 children are still waiting—waiting for someone to read with them, to encourage them, to believe in them.

The volunteers of the Pyjama Foundation give their patience and encouragement to help children build confidence, develop a love of learning and see a future filled with possibilities. The Pyjama Foundation can't change what happened to these children, but it can change what happens next.