search

• News
• Publications and reports
• Participation kit
• Training, seminars, events
• Speeches
• Links
• Book meeting rooms

Introduction

Thank you for the opportunity to come and speak with you this evening.

I’m here to talk about the best thing going for us as a nation – our kids.

We’re lucky in NSW.

We have over one and a half million kids and overall we’re doing a pretty good job of growing them up.

I’d firstly like to acknowledge the generous contribution of Rotarians and your efforts to benefit kids and the community.

Your youth projects provide exciting opportunities for kids such as the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards and the National Youth Science Forum.

Rotary’s support for the Linga Longa “Kids at risk” programme also helps more vulnerable kids to strengthen their future lives.

Jack Beetson, who runs Linga Longa, is on my Expert Advisory Committee – so it’s a small world.

But I digress.

Rotary has a great reputation and high degree of community trust that you’ve worked hard to build up.

It’s also important to remember that good reputations can be easily destroyed, if we don’t make the effort to safeguard our achievements.

I hope that what I discuss today helps to build on your social investments and the community goodwill for your organisation.

About CCYP

As Commissioner, one of my main responsibilities is to promote the safety and wellbeing of children in the community.

I’d like to just talk briefly about the Commission so you understand a bit more about who we are and what we do.

The Commission for Children and Young People was set up by the NSW Government to be an independent voice for the kids of our State.

One of our key roles is to lobby for the interests of kids and to bring children and young people into the heart of the decision-making that affects them.

Let me give you an example.

No doubt you’ve heard a lot of recent discussion in the media regarding P-plate drivers and what policies can or should be put in place to reduce accidents involving them.

It seemed that everyone had a point of view, but not too many people were talking to the people closest to the issue – the young drivers themselves.

Our job was to make sure that policy makers were able to take into account the views of young drivers before any changes were made to the current regulations.

We got Government to extend the deadline for responses to its discussion paper to give young people better opportunity to contribute.

Happily, people within the NRMA and state government saw the need to bring young people into the picture.

We worked together to make this happen. 

The Commission held focus groups with young people and brought their views into the policy-making mix.

Discovering what’s important to kids, and lobbying to get those things reflected in the important decisions and activities of government, is a major element of what we do.

Other ways we influence positive change for kids include:

• doing research about issues that affect kids – in a moment, I’ll talk about our latest research about Children at Work;
• contributing to public debate – for example, the current debate about child safety and 4WDs. Backed up by our own research, we were able to point out that children were far more likely to be killed by 4WD vehicles in residential driveways;

There are so many issues that affect kids. If we at the Commission only worked alone it would be hard to scratch the surface of any of them.

Building alliances with others is an important way that we can use our collective resources to achieve positive things for kids.

This is one of the reasons I’m pleased to be here tonight.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the relationship between kids and the economy.

What better way to explore some of these ideas than with committed corporate executives and business people, such as yourselves.

You already understand that the business community can - and should - make a positive contribution to improving kids’ lives.

I think it’s great that you’re using your position and influence to put something positive and worthwhile back into your community.

Your goal of public service is something we share – only my public is made up of kids under 18 years of age.

Your positions of influence give you the capacity to help kids’ voices and issues be heard in other parts of the community.

As leaders in our respective sectors, if we join forces with the same message, we have the ability to influence the right people in the right ways.

Kids’ role in the economy

At first glance, some might find it difficult to see a connection between kids and business.

Business is usually seen as adults’ business.

In fact, kids are BIG business – and I don’t just mean the marketing targeted at kids that we see everyday on TV screens and billboards.

Kids are much more than consumers of business products. They’re workers, team leaders, and sometimes managers as well.

For some of our most important industries – like retail, hospitality and agriculture – the working contribution of children is vital.

The full extent of that contribution across the broad range of paid and unpaid work that kids do, is too little understood – and certainly too little recognised.

That’s why the Commission embarked on the Children at Work project.

To find out about kids’ experience of work, we spoke with 11,000 young people across NSW in years 7 to 10.

We asked them about their experiences of work – the type of work they do, their conditions of employment, and how work fits with school, social and family life. 

The findings will be released in a few weeks’ time.  But tonight, I’ll give you a sneak preview.

More than half of children aged 12 – 16 years of age had worked in the previous 12 months.

Work was mostly a satisfying, beneficial experience for the children. They enjoyed the challenge of learning new things, meeting new people, earning money and having responsibility.

We have also identified some issues of concern that the community and employers need to take steps to address.

We’re recommending that a Task Force of experts from across the board work to come up with solutions, within 12 months, to make work the best possible experience for all our children.

This research confronts many myths around children and work.

Those of us who might once have thought that, while at school, children do little more than a few odd jobs for pocket money and only embark on real employment after leaving school – had better think again.

Imagine how the fast-food industry would fare if we took away all those workers behind the counter who were still at school.

And what about agriculture or the hundreds of clubs that feed into our major sporting codes?

It’s not surprising that our Children at Work research shows a powerful link between the economy and children.

But kids also play a role behind the scenes in driving the needs of the working parents in our economy.

It was interesting to see in the media a few months ago some of Australia’s biggest companies - Qantas, McDonald's and Westpac – joining forces and warning of a major workforce shortage caused by a lack of childcare.

Business leaders are talking about the importance of attracting and retaining workers.

There is a burgeoning understanding that issues like child care that have traditionally been classified as ‘women’s business’ actually have a direct impact on big business.

We at the Commission are working hard to demonstrate to private industry, government, employers and unions the nexus between kids and the economy.

An economy flourishes when it’s built on a strong, resilient society.

In turn, a strong society is built on the foundation of healthy, happy and educated individuals – and the best place to start this process is by giving kids a good head start in life.

Leadership in children’s issues

The money, time and energy we invest in children has a broad and long-term impact.

This concept of ‘costs’ associated with children is often seen in a negative light – for example, the cost of child care, schooling, health care and so on. 

They’re often seen as costs that should be only be borne by families.

The ‘child-free movement’ complain about their taxes funding the ‘lifestyle choices’ of people who decide to have children.

At the dawn of the twenty first century, the increasing emphasis on individualism in our society gives these fires of discontent plenty of oxygen. 

Yet families should not exclusively bear the costs associated with growing up children.

An individual parent, family, government department or institution cannot alone create the conditions necessary for happy, healthy and safe children.

Everyone has to invest in growing up children.

It is a blue chip investment that rewards us with handsome, immediate dividends and an attractive, long-term yield.

Research demonstrates that we have a critical window in which to make that investment, and which will result in the largest net effect.

They are the very early years of life – from birth to eight years of age. 

If we fail to invest in our children and their families, we pay the price as a community – and as taxpayers – further down the line.

One 27-year United States study showed that for every one dollar invested in services to help families with young children, four dollars was saved within three years on child protection, health education and justice systems.

By the time the children were adults, seven dollars had been saved.

That study has now been updated to show that the savings were 17 dollars saved for every one dollar invested when the adults reached the age of 40.

It’s only fair that if the community and business reaps the rewards, then the community and business should be genuine partners in the venture that is bringing up kids.

Through this investment, we’re helping to build resilient families, strong, supportive communities and ultimately a thriving and prosperous nation.

The corporate sector is in a very influential position to promote this important message.

Much of the Commission’s business is working to get decision makers to take on the right messages about kids and then act for change.

Both business and community leaders must adopt and push the message that investment in the early years is essential and non-negotiable if we want Australia to continue to be a strong, healthy and thriving society.

Leadership in the workplace

Business has a big impact on children and families, most directly through the conditions and opportunities they provide for staff.

Kids have told me time and again that strong relationships, especially with their family, are the most important thing to them. In practical terms, that means time with their parents.

We know from our work at the Commission that strong, nurturing relationships are the number-one protective mechanism for kids, both for those who have become vulnerable and for their more resilient peers.

Relationships form the prism through which kids experience the world. 

Kids are happier and safer when they have positive relationships with their families, child care centres, teachers and communities.

This is important information to have, as it guides us to where we can best place our efforts.

It’s also helpful for business to consider when structuring employee’s working conditions and the way workplace culture impacts on family life.

As corporate leaders, you can make an important difference.

When you act to improve the lives of the adults you work with, children benefit.

Providing opportunities for employees to balance their working and family lives directly benefits children.

We try to practise what we preach at the Commission so go about all our work in the way we would have other organisations conduct their business.

We’re a small organisation, but we manage the needs of our employees to make sure that they are productive and happy.

We provide options to help staff balance their family and work lives, such as the option to work part time, from home, to job share, take a range of leave entitlements and work flexible hours.

In doing this, we are directly benefiting the children of our staff.

We also involve children and young people in our day-to-day work and consult with them on a regular basis to guide our policy making, strategic direction and everyday work.

And we make sure that the workplace is welcoming and safe for children and families at the times when they do need to come in.

One of our core sources of information and guidance is the Commission’s Children and Young People’s Reference Group.

It brings together young people with a range of experiences to provide their perspectives and understanding in discussions on key issues affecting us all.

We promote the participation of young people by providing traineeships, and ensuring those trainees have the support they need to contribute to work discussions and meetings.

We don’t just speak with young people – we work with them and share our resources so they build their leadership skills.

These skills equip them to be leaders in their communities, their schools, their families, their workplaces, their organisations. 

But rather than me tell you about how we build leadership capacity among the young people who work with us – I’d rather that one of our young leaders put it into his own words.

I’d like at this point to introduce you to Paul MacKay, a Policy Trainee who joined us in January this year.

<Paul>

My first experience with the Commission was back in 2002 when I sat on the young people’s reference group for that year.

Though I’d always been involved as much as I could at school; with debating and sport and whatever else put off maths for a little bit longer – I really had no experience or knowledge about what was happening on a broader scale.

My time on the reference group was not only a lot of fun, and completely empowering, but eye opening as well.

To realise an organisation like the Commission existed simply to improve young people’s lives, to ensure our voices were heard and our wellbeing looked after, was certainly comforting.

That I’m here now, 3 years later, demonstrates further the general attitude toward young people at the Commission.

We attend a college course one day a week to learn basic office skills and have regular contact with other trainees from different workplaces.

After discussing their roles within the workplace, and comparing them with our own, it’s become apparent that we’re pretty fortunate.

We’re involved in all the Commission’s operations – from consultations with young people, to writing briefs and submissions. From administrative tasks to deciding the layout of publications. Organising meetings, speaking at events; whatever the Commission does we’re offered the opportunity to work on.

Each trainee is assigned a fantastic supervisor, and under their guidance we’re given challenging tasks to work on with a degree of independence that ensures we maintain direction, but also get the most out of the workplace experience.

The traineeship program is not something that can be offered to all young people. That however, does not mean the Commission’s reach to improving young people’s lives and developing leaders ends there.

In my final years of high school I became involved with the United Nations Youth Association, and though I knew no different, many veterans of the organisation were able to recount a time when it wasn’t so easy to have access to a fantastic meeting space. This support means we’re not only able to hold meetings, but events and competitions and interviews in a wonderful space – a commitment that certainly works to improve young people’s lives, and develop leaders.

Children have told us in consultations that even though some may never have physical contact with the Commission – just knowing we exist makes them feel a little better.

When the Commission’s new Strategic Plan was being developed in 2003, we asked the young people’s reference group what exactly we should be doing. The group was supported by the Commission to go out into their own communities and hold forums and consultations to get a broad idea of what young people wanted. Our Research Team then produced a report on the findings, and they were used as a basis for much of the Strategic Plan.

When members of the Reference Group were shown the Plan, they were amazed to see that sections of it contained direction for the Commission in regards to work on issues that arose in their consultations. It is this commitment to approaching concerns relevant to children and young people that makes the Commission so necessary, and relevant in our community.

The consultation though, certainly does not stop with the young people’s reference group. Whenever a project is being completed, Commission staff go to great lengths to include as vast an array of young people as possible.

Importantly, it does this at the same time as it builds capacity for leadership in young people from all walks of life.

< Gillian >

Thanks Paul.

He’s a terrific ambassador.

Managing risk

At the Commission, we’ve worked hard to build our credibility among kids, government agencies, non-government organisations, community groups and industry.

Being almost six years young, we’re not nearly as globally recognisable as the Rotary brand, but give us a few more years… and we’ll see.

Conclusion

I enjoy meeting business leaders who are keen on kids.

Your interest and commitment bodes well for kids because you can have a powerful influence on the quality of children’s lives.

And that makes my job of making NSW a better place for children and young people an easier one.

I look forward to exploring some tangible ways to work with you to progress our common goals.

Thank you.

< back