CONSTITUENCY STATEMENTS

Ms WITTY (Melbourne) (10:35): This week is National Child Protection Week, a time to reflect on what every child deserves: to be safe, supported and given the opportunity to thrive. It is also a reminder that behind every statistic is a child or young person with their own story, their own challenges and their own hopes for the future. Recently, I had the privilege of meeting a young advocate—let's call her Jess—who shared her experience of growing up in out-of-home care.

For 16 years, Jess had been part of the foster care system. She spoke openly about the importance of family and the lasting impact that childhood experiences can have throughout a person's life. While Jess and her siblings were kept together growing up in care, they experienced abuse at the hands of one of their foster carers.

Even though they tried to speak up, they weren't listened to, causing lifelong trauma. With each child now living with the outcomes of that abuse, the system had let them down. Jess has turned that into a powerful personal advocacy.

Some of her family have struggled into adult life, including her elder sibling, who she has lost contact with. I am grateful to Jess for sharing such a personal story and for using her experience to advocate for others and to improve the system that can help other young people. Her story resonated with me personally.

As this parliament knows, I'm a foster carer. I see firsthand the difference that stability, trust and support can make in a young person's life. I also see the dedication of foster carers, kinship carers, child protection workers and community organisations who step up every day to support children when they need it most.

Those experiences continue to shape how I approach this work here today. I also recently met with Dr Janise Mitchell, CEO of the Australian Childhood Foundation. The foundation does extraordinary work supporting young people and children who have experienced abuse, neglect and trauma.

It works alongside children, families and carers to help young people heal, build resilience and create brighter futures. Our discussion focused on the challenges facing children and young people in care, the importance of trauma informed support and how we can ensure that children's voices are heard when policies and services are developed. National Child Protection Week is an opportunity to recognise the people who support vulnerable children every day, but it's also a chance to truly listen to those with lived experience and learn from what they have to tell us.

I want to thank Jess for her courage, honesty and advocacy. I want to thank the Australian Childhood Foundation for their work. Every child deserves safety.

Every child deserves to be heard. Every child deserves to know they matter.