❓ Question regarding the Minister's stance on a report finding widespread racism in Indigenous psychological services, and the Minister's response focuses on acknowledging the work of child protection services and the importance of cultural understanding.
AnsweredQoN 124Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
COMMUNITIES — INDIGENOUS PSYCHOLOGICAL SERVICES
REPORT
124. Ms M.J. DAVIES to the Minister for Child Protection:
I
have a supplementary question. Is the minister rejecting the finding in the
report that there is widescale and endemic racism or does she consider
herself more qualified to make this assessment than the author of the report,
who is an Aboriginal woman who holds a doctorate in clinical psychology and is
a world leader in Aboriginal mental health and cultural competency?
REPORT
124. Ms M.J. DAVIES to the Minister for Child Protection:
I
have a supplementary question. Is the minister rejecting the finding in the
report that there is widescale and endemic racism or does she consider
herself more qualified to make this assessment than the author of the report,
who is an Aboriginal woman who holds a doctorate in clinical psychology and is
a world leader in Aboriginal mental health and cultural competency?
AnswerView source ↗
I
do not know whether the member has read the report. Has she read the 450 pages
of the report and fully understood the different issues that it was
looking at? Has she read it? Has she had a look at it?
Ms M.J. Davies interjected.
Ms S.F. McGURK : I am pretty
sure she has not read the report and she has not read the
PricewaterhouseCoopers report either.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members, I am
asking you to be quiet. I would like to hear the minister's response.
This is a supplementary answer. I would like it to be brief, please.
Ms S.F. McGURK : I think it is important to understand
that the Department of Communities does very important work, particularly the
child protection workforce in the department, which is incredibly dedicated to getting
good outcomes for the families, particularly the children, that they work with.
I think we all need to understand how we can improve our understanding of
Aboriginal culture and therefore better engage with Aboriginal families and
communities. We need to understand how to better work with
Aboriginal-controlled organisations. I particularly want to acknowledge the
work of child protection workers in our state and the community—that is
both the Department of Communities and those who work with our partner
agencies. They are doing very difficult work. The majority of them are not
Aboriginal, and we acknowledge that, but they are absolutely committed to
working to get good outcomes to deepen their own cultural understanding and
also to —
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for Vasse
and the other ministers, you are not invited to interject. Minister, can you
just finalise that answer, please.
Ms S.F. McGURK : I acknowledge
the important work of the child protection workforce in Western Australia. I also acknowledge the role the Department of
Communities plays and the work it is doing to deepen its understanding of engagement with Aboriginal people and their culture and their communities to
achieve better outcomes.
do not know whether the member has read the report. Has she read the 450 pages
of the report and fully understood the different issues that it was
looking at? Has she read it? Has she had a look at it?
Ms M.J. Davies interjected.
Ms S.F. McGURK : I am pretty
sure she has not read the report and she has not read the
PricewaterhouseCoopers report either.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members, I am
asking you to be quiet. I would like to hear the minister's response.
This is a supplementary answer. I would like it to be brief, please.
Ms S.F. McGURK : I think it is important to understand
that the Department of Communities does very important work, particularly the
child protection workforce in the department, which is incredibly dedicated to getting
good outcomes for the families, particularly the children, that they work with.
I think we all need to understand how we can improve our understanding of
Aboriginal culture and therefore better engage with Aboriginal families and
communities. We need to understand how to better work with
Aboriginal-controlled organisations. I particularly want to acknowledge the
work of child protection workers in our state and the community—that is
both the Department of Communities and those who work with our partner
agencies. They are doing very difficult work. The majority of them are not
Aboriginal, and we acknowledge that, but they are absolutely committed to
working to get good outcomes to deepen their own cultural understanding and
also to —
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for Vasse
and the other ministers, you are not invited to interject. Minister, can you
just finalise that answer, please.
Ms S.F. McGURK : I acknowledge
the important work of the child protection workforce in Western Australia. I also acknowledge the role the Department of
Communities plays and the work it is doing to deepen its understanding of engagement with Aboriginal people and their culture and their communities to
achieve better outcomes.
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