What About The Children?

[the_great_she_elephant]

I am amazed and disgusted that in all the indignation over what Gillian Triggs should or shouldn't have done or who said or didn't say what to her, not ONE SINGLE POLITICIAN  except, finally, Malcolm Turnbull, has commented in any way on the contents of her report..

She found that  over a 15-month period from January 2013 to March 2014, spanning both the Labor and Coalition governments  there were 233 recorded assaults involving children and 33 incidents of reported sexual assault. 

If these findings are true - and as far as I know nobody has so far disputed them -   then what is going to be done about it? Who had the duty of care? who is going to be held responsible. What measures are going to be put in place to stop this abuse happening in future?

Both Gillian Triggs and George Brandis are astute and comparitively wealthy adults able to instruct top  legal practitioners to protect their reputaions - but who is going to protect the safety of these children? How many more children have been abused since March 2014? Is a child perhaps being abused in a detention centre  even while you are reading this post? 

Surely to goodness after all that was learned from the Children In Care Royal Commission this report cannot simply be put in a "don't want to know" basket while both sides of Pariament try to gain political mileage out the motives of the Human Rghts Commissioner or the behaviour of the Attourney General.

At some point -though probably not in the lifetime of this government  or even  the one that follows it - there will inevitably be a Royal Commission into the treatment of children in detention centre. what do you imagine its findings are likely to be?

[idlewhile]

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@vicr3000 wrote:

Glee

Flooded by Illegal Country Shoppers

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Just the inconsequent commenting on the inconsistent:

The outpouring of outrage and faux sympathy by the left on here whilst all the while our indigenous brothers and sisters are suffering a far far worse future or even no future, by suicide at a rate that should shock everybody.

The faux outrage and sympathy on here for non citizens, illegal immigrants country shopping and using their own children as blackmail objects, or even worse, standing by whilst they are being hurt or worse? using them?, is political nothing more, just another excuse to Abbott bash.

Where are the parents in this?? what are they doing? why aren't they looking after their own children?? that's what I, and most of Australia, would like to know.

[gleee58]

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@vicr3000 wrote:

Glee

Flooded by Illegal Country Shoppers

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No, by any measure we have never been flooded by illegal arrivals under any description.

[gleee58]

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@icyfroth wrote:

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@the_great_she_elephant wrote:

Well Ms Triggs had the right instincts.

Gave her profoundly disabled daughter into foster care in order to focus on her abled children.

And her career, no doubt.

And this has some bearing on whether refugee children in detention centres are less deserving of protecion than Australian children in the community?

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It was in answer to the question Poddster put to you re Sophie's choice in post 205

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And some peopel kick out family members when they become challenging.  Other people don't.  It's nothing to do with this debate and it's playing the person instead of the topic.

[vicr3000]

Your view only.

It was like a waterfall at the end of winter by the end of the Rudd Gov't.

We as in Aus was straining under the tempo and numbers arriving.

If that wasn't the case, Abbott wouldn't have got voted in but a lot of Aus agree with the above, they were sick of it.

[idlewhile]

What do you call a boat a day? 53,000 illegal immigrants by boat ? 1200 lost (that we know of)   or are you just being obtuse?

[vicr3000]

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@idlewhile wrote:

What do you call a boat a day? 53,000 illegal immigrants by boat ? 1200 lost (that we know of)   or are you just being obtuse?

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BLIND ?

[idlewhile]

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@gleee58 wrote:

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@icyfroth wrote:

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@the_great_she_elephant wrote:

Well Ms Triggs had the right instincts.

Gave her profoundly disabled daughter into foster care in order to focus on her abled children.

And her career, no doubt.

And this has some bearing on whether refugee children in detention centres are less deserving of protecion than Australian children in the community?

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It was in answer to the question Poddster put to you re Sophie's choice in post 205

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And some peopel kick out family members when they become challenging.  Other people don't.  It's nothing to do with this debate and it's playing the person instead of the topic.

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A baby was jettisoned because it didn't fit her lifestyle. How you can defend this  appalling action? I'm appalled just reading your comment. 

I had a friend who had a profoundly Autistic child, she didn't jettison it even when her husband died at a very young age and she was left to cope on her own.

[icyfroth]

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@gleee58 wrote:

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@icyfroth wrote:

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@the_great_she_elephant wrote:

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@poddster wrote:

I reiterate

ele if you had the means to protect one of 2 children and one of them happens to be a family member, wouldnt you protect that one?

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I may only have one heart, Poddy, but I have two arms.

And if you think that's a silly answer then take a long hard look at the question, because it's the best answer it deserves.

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Well Ms Triggs had the right instincts.

Gave her profoundly disabled daughter into foster care in order to focus on her abled children.

And her career, no doubt.

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Acting on the best information she had at the time

Do we know what affect that had on her life

Would think that would have been an easy decision

How many years ago was it

Judgement is so easy to pass, without all the information.

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My comment was not in judgement of her, she probably did the best she could at the time.

More to illustrate that to focus all your care on one issue is often to neglect more pressing issues.

Such as the needy Australian children who are virtually abandoned while the government concentrates on the issue of border security.

[the_great_she_elephant]

My comment was not in judgement of her, she probably did the best she could at the time.

More to illustrate that to focus all your care on one issue is often to neglect more pressing issues.

Such as the needy Australian children who are virtually abandoned while the government concentrates on the issue of border security.

In the context of this thread - and, indeed, in any context, Tthose two are completely separate and have absolutely no bearing on each other. You might as well accuse the government of focusing on saving the Bali drug smugglers building submarines while abandoning needy Australian children. In fact you could apply that criticism to every policy any government has ever implemented.

And why the stress on Australian children? Is not every child living in Australia deserving of the same level of protection?

If  we are going to start rationing our compassion, why stop at race or citizenship status?  There is currently an enquiry underway into sexual abuse at an expensive  private boys school - should we be wasting precious resources on obtaining justice for the chidren of a wealthy minority when we know there are children being abused in remote Aboriginal communities?

And before anyone starts acusing me - of course that argument clearly has no merit whatsoever - it is simply a logical extension of the sliding scale advocated by some posters here. 

[the_great_she_elephant]

Where are the parents in this?? what are they doing? why aren't they looking after their own children?? that's what I, and most of Australia, would like to know.

Are you speaking here  about the parents of children in detention or the parents of children in Aboriginal communities? I suspect in both cases the lack of  has a lot to do with apathy born of depression and despair.

In a  closed community- who do you turn to  for help if you suspect your child is being abused?

In an Aboriginal community you could complain to the elders - but what if they or their relatives are the perpetrators?

In a detention centre you can complain to the administrators - but what if their priority is to protect the company and their own jobs?

We know that in care homes numerous complaints were made and either ignored or dismissed - why would we assume the same number of complaints were not made in the detention centres. In fact we do know that complaints were made (remember that I  TV programme  I mentioned) 

The truth is, the abuse of children in detention centres is a national scandal. Many people in authority must have had their suspicions long before Gillian Triggs started her enquiry.  Something should have been done about it years ago and something needs to be done about it now. When the abuse of children in care homes could no longer be swept under the carpet we finally had a Royal Commission. As I mentioned before, an enquiry is - belatedly - being held into the abuse of children in an elite private school. We can no longer deny that children have been  abused in our detention centres.. and if they do not get justice  then the whole of Australia should hang its head in shame.