GPV/KCV is now a signatory to the following statement drafted by the Parenting and Family Research Alliance

Physical punishment is harmful to Australian children

In 2006, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (‘the Committee’) issued General Comment No. 8 on the right of the child to protection from corporal punishment and other cruel or degrading forms of punishment. The Committee defined ‘corporal’ or ‘physical’ punishment as:
Any punishment in which physical force is used and intended to cause some degree of pain or discomfort, however light. This includes hitting (smacking, spanking, slapping, kicking, scratching, pinching, shaking, or throwing the child, pulling hair, boxing ears, and biting) with the hand or with a stick, belt, shoe, wooden spoon, or whip. The view was that corporal punishment is intrinsically degrading and, therefore, incompatible with the Convention on the Rights of the Child (‘the Convention’). Moreover, other non- physical behaviour that belittles, threatens, scares, ridicules, denigrates, or humiliates the child has also been found to be incompatible with the Convention.
This Joint Statement uses this definition of physical punishment.
Currently, 66 countries/states have eliminated/legislated against the use of physical punishment of children and a further 27 countries/states have committed to doing so. The United Nations General Assembly has targeted eliminating all forms of violence against children, including physical punishment, in its Sustainable Development Goals (‘SDGs’) for 2030. SDG Target 16.2 aims to end the abuse, exploitation, trafficking, and all forms of violence against and torture of children.
We, the signatories to this Joint Statement, are supporting the campaign Ending Physical Punishment of Australian Children, auspiced by the Parenting and Family Research Alliance (PAFRA). We declare that in light of the large body of scientific evidence which clearly states that physical punishment is harmful to the physical and mental wellbeing of our children, Australian parents should be encouraged to use alternative forms of discipline that do not involve physical force.
We call on State and Territory authorities to repeal criminal law legislation that permits physical punishment and to insert a clause into relevant civil legislation which states that physical punishment is no longer appropriate.
We acknowledge that parenting is hard. Therefore, we call on those responsible for the wellbeing of children in the medical, nursing, social work, psychological, family law, child welfare and child
protection spheres and other relevant fields to ensure those raising children have access to positive parenting education and support as an alternative to physical punishment.
We aim to eliminate all forms of physical punishment from Australian parenting practices.
See all signatories to this Joint Statement on the PAFRA website. For further information, please contact a member of the Steering Committee:
• Professor Daryl Higgins, E: [email protected]
• Professor Sophie Havighurst, E: [email protected]
• Karen Flanagan AM, E: [email protected]

Independent Member for Kooyong, Dr Monique Ryan has sponsored a petition for all citizens to sign in support of all our young people.

Some facts from last year:
Over a million Australians saw their HECS debt grow faster than it was being repaid
The government received more money from HECS debts than it did from its main fossil fuel tax.

The petition calls on Minister Clare to change the way HECS debts are indexed – as was recommended by the Australian Universities Accord, released last month.SIGN THE PETITION VIA THE LINK OR QR CODE BELOW
https://www.change.org/p/make-our-hecs-debts-easier-to-pay-off

Public schools in Victoria are massively under-resourced.
Parents, it’s time to take action!

1. Sign up to the For Every Child campaign at foreverychild.au
2. Follow/like Parents Victoria and For Every Child on Facebook and Threads, and share our posts with your networks
3. Contact Federal & State Education Ministers and your local MP (more details on our website)
4. Call talkback radio (we’ll help you with some talking points)
5. Get your school and Parent Club involved. Encourage friends, family and colleagues to get active too.

Government funding for public schools – The facts
The Schooling Resource Standard (SRS) is an estimate of how much public funding a school needs to meet its students’ educational needs.
Public schools only receive 86% of the SRS, while private schools receive 103% of the SRS.
Private schools were over-funded by $147 million in 2023 and the cumulative over-funding from 2022 to 2029 is estimated at about $734 million.
Government funding increases have heavily favoured private schools over public schools since 2009.
Public schools are massively under-funded despite enrolling over 80% of disadvantaged students
84% of Indigenous students in Victoria attend public schools. Money matters in education, especially for disadvantaged students.

Properly resourcing public schools is the best way to ensure that:
Children, no matter their background or circumstances, can have their needs met.
Teaching professionals have the resources and tools needed to deliver a high quality education.
This assists to attract and retain teacher workforce.
Schools don’t have to rely on parent volunteers to fundraise.
Schools don’t have to use parent payments to fill the funding gaps.

www.parentsvictoria.au

Those on the age pension, disability support pension and carer payment will pocket an extra $19.60 for singles and $29.40 for couples combined each fortnight, come 20 March.

The maximum rate of the pension will go up to $1,116.30 for singles and $1,682.80 for couples each fortnight, when including the pension and energy supplements.

People on rent assistance, JobSeeker, single parenting payments and ABSTUDY will also receive an uptick in their payments.

An extra 77,000 parents are on a higher payment rate after eligibility was expanded to cover parents with a youngest child under 14 instead of eight in the last budget.

The single parenting payment will go up by $17.50 a fortnight.
Single JobSeeker recipients with no kids, and people over 22 on ABSTUDY, will get an extra $13.50 per fortnight.

Each member of a couple will get an additional $12.30 per fortnight.

Income and assets limits for the payments will also be increased in line with indexation on 20 March.

Indexation is an important measure to ensure welfare recipients have more money in their pockets, Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth said.
“Our number one priority is addressing inflation and cost of living pressures,” she said.

“Pension recipients are some of the most vulnerable members of our communities, many having worked all their lives contributing to our society or caring for a loved one.”

The complete list of payments increasing on 20 March 2024, including income and asset limits, can be found on the  Department of Social Services website

In this podcast we speak with Victoria’s Commissioner for Children and Young People, Liana Buchanan, about the Commission’s ‘Let Us Learn’ inquiry report, tabled in the Victorian parliament in November 2023.

The report shows that the education engagement and outcomes for children and young people in out-of-home care trail significantly behind those of their peers.

Liana explains why the Commission conducted the report and outlines its reaction to the findings. She also discusses some of the Commission’s most pressing recommendations resulting from the inquiry.

Click here to download/listen to the podcast