7AStatement of Recognition

7A Statement of Recognition (1) The Parliament formally recognises that Aboriginal people are the First Nations people of Australia. (2) The Parliament acknowledges that— (a) the child protection system played a key role in the enactment of policies leading to the dispossession, colonisation and assimilation of Aboriginal people; and (b) the laws, practices and policies of former child protection systems resulted in the removal of Aboriginal children from their families, culture and Country, by compulsion, in an effort to assimilate and extinguish their culture and identity. (3) The Parliament recognises the systematic forcible removal of Aboriginal children through the laws, practices and policies of the child protection system has substantially contributed to— (a) a legacy of disconnection; and (b) intergenerational trauma; and (c) entrenched social disadvantage and dysfunction; and (d) marginalisation; and (e) a distrust of the child protection system. (4) The Parliament recognises that ongoing structural inequality and systemic racism impact Aboriginal people and culture in relation to— (a) decision-making in the child protection system; and (b) over-representation of Aboriginal children in the child protection system. (5) The Parliament further recognises the survival, resilience and success of Aboriginal families and communities in the face of the devastating impacts of these colonisation, dispossession and assimilation policies. (6) The Parliament supports rights and initiatives that— (a) address the factors that drive the over‑representation of Aboriginal children in the child protection system; and (b) will require Aboriginal children, families and communities to be treated fairly and equally. (7) It is the intention of Parliament that the child protection system must recognise, respect and support the distinct cultural rights of Aboriginal people and their right to self‑determination. S. 7B inserted by No. 17/2023 s. 4.