00:00An unusual union of usual political opponents urging the government to act.
00:07Well I feel like the government listens to political strength and this here today is political strength.
00:12We will use this strength for the children of this state.
00:15From the Greens to the crossbench and the Liberals there's widespread agreement
00:19South Australia's child protection laws need reform.
00:22But Labor can't secure the support to get its proposed changes through.
00:26Well we've provided pieces of paper with words on them in the form of over 100 amendments to this bill.
00:31That is what will form the basis of our conversation with the Minister.
00:35At the heart of the standoff is a disagreement over words.
00:39The government wants the laws to focus on safety,
00:42where carers and child protection workers have to consider above all else safety of the child.
00:47Critics think it should be the child's best interests,
00:51arguing it more broadly considers the personal needs of children.
00:54All those children died under the safety principle.
00:59If that in and of itself is not enough to show us that this is not working,
01:05then there is something seriously wrong.
01:08But the child's best interests as the paramount principle always includes safety.
01:12But while the government is open to negotiations, it's holding firm on its view.
01:17Our position has been to retain safety of children as the paramount principle.
01:24We have also inserted best interests as a guiding principle.
01:30If Parliament won't agree, the 2017 laws will remain in place, which has advocates concerned.
01:36The current act has actually driven more children into our care system and has done more harm than good.
01:43However, the current bill isn't where it needs to be if we're going to make that transformational change.
01:47With the bill effectively stalled in Parliament, the government is making changes without it.
01:52It's issued directions to the Child Protection Department to change its policies,
01:56keeping safety as its primary principle and adopting a number of other elements in the proposed legislation.
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