First Nations children across the country officially have a national advocate from Wednesday, with legislation establishing the National Commissioner for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People coming into effect.
Long championed by advocates, federal parliament passed legislation establishing the independent office in March despite opposition from the Coalition, with Wurundjeri and Ngurai Illum Wurrung woman Sue-Anne Hunter, appointed as the inaugural full-time Commissioner last year, now formally leading the office.
In a statement marking the milestone, Ms Hunter acknowledged the challenges facing First Nations children but said governments had for too long "consistently" failed to "deliver the scale of reform needed to address the persistent disadvantage they experience".
"The time for listening without action is over," she said. "The time for our children's voices to be heard is now. I accept the full weight of this power and will do everything I can to see a better future for our children."
Listening to First Nations children will be central to her role.
"Our children have a right to rely on the systems that were purposefully built to support them. Putting it bluntly, our governments are not delivering on this and have been consistently turning a blind eye to what is happening," she said.
"The only people who are paying the price are First Nations, children and young people."
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The Commission has been designed to operate independently of government, with the authority to advocate without political interference. It will receive $33.5 million over four years to establish it as a permanent statutory agency and fully resource its work, alongside ongoing funding of $8.4 million a year.
The legislation also gives the Commissioner the power to compel evidence from state and territory governments, with civil penalties available for non-compliance.
Speaking to this masthead earlier this year, Ms Hunter — the former deputy chair of the Yoorrook Justice Commission, the country's first official truth-telling body — said the office's statutory independence was fundamental to its effectiveness.
That independence, she argued, is essential to scrutinising what many consider to be persistent violations of the rights of First Nations children.
"Basically, we are not under direction," she told National Indigenous Times. "The minister can ask me — she can write formally and ask. We can say no, but we will note that in our annual report as to what and why we declined to do that. That way, we actually are able to have our own clear direction of where we're going and what we're looking at."
The office will also have the ability to "name and shame" governments and individuals who breach children's rights.
Importantly, the legislation requires the Commissioner to "exercise powers in a manner consistent with the promotion" of key principles, including the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Both principles have frequently been criticised as being ignored by governments across Australia. This week, the federal government rejected United Nations recommendations calling on Australia to implement UNDRIP.
The latest Closing the Gap data shows the rate of children entering out-of-home care continues to rise, with First Nations children almost 11 times more likely to be placed in child protection than non-Indigenous children. In Ms Hunter's home state of Victoria, that figure rises to more than 20 times the rate.
As she noted last year, it is not a burden "our kids need to carry".
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In youth justice, the disparity is equally stark, with First Nations children and young people incarcerated at more than 23 times the rate of their non-Indigenous counterparts.
The new legislation is not without its limits, with Labour rejecting a Greens amendment that would have required the responsible minister to formally respond to the Commissioner's recommendations and explain why any recommendation was not accepted.
According to Greens leader Larissa Waters, the government argued this was because the Australian Human Rights Commission does not have equivalent powers.
Criticism of oversight bodies as toothless tigers — producing reports that lead to little change — is common, and not without reason. Ms Hunter acknowledged in March that the inability to compel a ministerial response remained a "worry for me".
"Another book, another report that sits on the shelf, that does concern me," she accepted. "But at the same time, the public needs to know what's going on. And when you combine some of these powers, for instance, the ability to acquire documents, and then the independence of being able to make these visible to the public, [it] makes me more hopeful."
The Coalition opposed the legislation despite support for the role from a broad range of experts in child safety and First Nations children's advocacy. During debate in parliament, Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price argued the office would add bureaucracy without delivering meaningful change.
She renewed calls for a Royal Commission into sexual abuse in remote communities — a proposal routinely described as unnecessary by many working in the sector — and argued the funding would not alter outcomes for Indigenous children.
Instead, she claimed that "only practical, localised action will," arguing the government is "prioritising symbolism over practical action".
"The reality is that this government and those whose lucrative salaries within the Indigenous industry depend on the taxpayer dollar sing from the same songbook," she said.
Ms Hunter acknowledges that change will not happen overnight. Nonetheless, she believes "we know what needs to be done to fix it".
"Today, we witness genuine change," she said. "Today, we begin the path to a better future."
