ON APRIL 23, 2009, The Daily Telegraph reported that a “staggering 152 children who died in 2007 had all been known by DoCS, police or health services to be a risk”.
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More than half of the 152 children were less than one year old and some were known to be drug addicted.
In the same timeframe, the most important issue in the NSW Parliament was to get the Same-Sex Adoption Bill legalised.
During the first week of September, the Same-Sex Adoption Bill passed through both houses of the NSW Parliament.
Then, on September 9, like a yo-yo, it bounced back into the lower house for amendment, and returned like a boomerang to the upper house.
And at the time I thanked the leader of the Nationals, Andrew Stoner, and Liberal MP David Clarke, who also spoke passionately about putting the needs of children to have a mother and a father before the selfish needs of adults.
And I was critical of the leader of the Liberal Party, Barry O’Farrell: it’s a shame he didn’t have the same courage as Mr Stoner and Mr Clarke to put children first.
To former premier Kristina Keneally: interesting tears of sorrow on September 8 for the smoking ceremony.
I am yet to see any tears for the children mentioned in Justice James Wood’s inquiry (The Daily Telegraph, March 3, 2009), especially when then-community services minister Linda Burney said “DoCS and its helpline had been overwhelmed” (March 6, 2009).
I am saddened and shocked that Ms Burney would support the Same-Sex Adoption Bill, and ask whether there will be exemptions for at-risk Aboriginal children.
Then-premier Bob Carr (The Daily Telegraph, December 1, 2001) said “the history of the Stolen Generation was stopping authorities from rescuing Aboriginal children from abusive parents”.
While the band playing the song of the republic, reconciliation and Sydney Mardi Gras played on and on, drug- and alcohol-addicted parents were allowed, and even encouraged, to keep their children, even though they had cigarette burns on their tiny bodies, which was a favourite pastime of adults whose rights exceeded the needs of the children they brought into this world.
Sadly, these children received more attention in death than they did in life.
I question, in five years’ time, will we have to say sorry to another generation of black and white stolen children?
Surely it would be better to put the whole family in detention centres for rehabilitation.
Judith Law
Gunnedah