News
Commissioner welcomes Government response to Royal Commission
National Children’s Commissioner Megan Mitchell welcomes the Federal Government’s commitment to a national apology to survivors of abuse, and the creation of a national office for child safety. The Government has today accepted or accepted in principle 104 of 122 recommendations from the Royal...
13th Australasian Injury Prevention Network Conference
The 13 th Australasian Injury Prevention Network Conference Date: Monday, 13 th November 2017 1. Acknowledgments Good morning everyone. Thank you Rebecca for the introduction. It’s a pleasure to be invited to present at this year’s Australasian Injury Prevention Network Conference. I wish to start...
Children’s rights to safety and to a holistic education
Good morning everyone and thank you Katharine O’Donnell, ANZELA National President, for inviting me to be part of what I hear has been a stimulating event to date and to present the Dr Ann Shorten Memorial Lecture. I too would like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which we...
Voices in Action: Empowering young people for positive change
Speech given at the CREATE Biannual Conference Date: 9.25am, 10 August 2017 at the International Convention Centre, Sydney Introduction Thank you to CREATE Foundation for the invitation to provide an opening address. I too would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which we meet...
Creating safety: Building respect, resilience and relationships using children’s rights
National Suicide Prevention Conference 2017 Delivered on Friday 28 July 2017 Introduction It’s a pleasure to be invited here today to present at this year’s Suicide Prevention Conference. Before I begin, I would like to acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land we gather on today, and pay my...
Reaching the highest standard of health for adolescents
Speech given at the Australian Association for Adolescent Health 2017 Conference Date: 10am - 11am, Thursday 6 July 2017 Introduction Good morning. It’s a pleasure to be here to speak about the work I have done as Australia’s first National Children’s Commissioner. Before I begin, I would like to...
We need to do more to protect our kids online
One unintended consequence of the explosion of digital technology is the proliferation of online child exploitation material – and increased opportunities for child sex offenders to connect with other offenders. This is the central finding of Anti-Slavery Australia’s Behind the Screen: Online Child...
Is jail the answer for Australian kids?
This year around 900 children and young people will spend Christmas in jail. More than 5 per cent of this population are between 10 and 12 years old and 74 per cent of this age group are Indigenous. Most have been charged or convicted with petty crimes, like graffiti, vandalism, shop lifting or fare...
Launch of Children's Rights Report 2016
Introduction Good morning everyone. I want to begin by speaking about an artwork submitted by a young person detained in a youth justice centre. This was sent to me as an entry to an art competition I ran for children and young people in youth justice centres this year. I asked them to show me how...
There's no excuse for child abuse
Author Megan Mitchell, National Children's Commissioner Earlier this year I visited the Don Dale Youth Detention Centre in Darwin, along with a number of other centres where children are detained across the country. The purpose of the visits was to see how young people were being treated and how their...
Children's Week Address: Don't be scared - it's just information!
Introduction I would like to start by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet, the Arrernte people, and pay my respects to elders past, present and future. I would also like to thank Geraldine for the Welcome to Country, and to Tiara for her fabulous emceeing here tonight...
Building Belonging: resources on cultural diversity and responding to prejudice
Early Childhood Australia conference Introduction Good morning and thank you for joining me today. I’d like to start by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we are meeting, the Larrakia people, and pay my respects to elders past, present and future. It’s a pleasure and a...