Landmines in the lounge room - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) More than 2 million children may starve in Yemen in 2021, UN says, with US to remove Houthi terror designation. 'Hear me now': Australian of the Year Grace Tame's speech in full. Grace Tame made a powerful speech last night accepting her award for Australian of the Year.
She told ABC's News Breakfast she could feel the atmosphere in the room. "And the feeling was reconnection, the feeling was hope. It was in the room, it was palpable," she said. "Change is happening and it's happening right now. " Grace helped lead the fight to overturn a law preventing sexual assault survivors from speaking out. This is her speech in full. "Straight to the pool room! "Firstly I'd like to acknowledge and pay my respects to the traditional owners of this land, there are still voices yet to be heard.
"Prime Minister, fellow nominees, mum, dad, Oscar, the rest of my family and friends, Max, Let Her Speak creator Nina Funnell, the campaign partners and the 16 other brave campaign survivors, thank you. Stop talking about your dieting in front of children, experts warn, as eating disorders rise. Dietitians are urging adults to avoid discussing diet and exercise regimes in front of children, saying demonising food could be damaging to the long-term mental health of children.
Key points: Experts warn parents talking about diets can negatively influence children's eating habitsA dietitian says she is seeing children as young as five restricting food intakeCalls to a national eating disorder hotline increased by 60 per cent during 2020 Gold Coast paediatric dietitian Lyza Norton said she has seen increasing numbers of young children with concerns about eating, and children as young as 11 years of age presenting with full eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa. Australia urged by 31 countries at UN meeting to raise age of criminal responsibility. More than two dozen countries have pressured Australia to raise the age of criminal responsibility at a United Nations meeting overnight.
Key points: Indigenous children are over-represented in the Australian justice systemAboriginal legal services have called for immediate action following the international pressureMost Australian jurisdictions are yet to implement changes to the age of criminal responsibility Canada, France, Germany, Venezuela and Norway were among the 31 UN member states to call on Australia to raise the age, in what advocates said was an escalation in international pressure relating to this issue. The minimum age of criminal responsibility in Australia is 10. In 2019, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child recommended 14 years as the minimum age. Tasmania's child protection services lets vulnerable children as young as 10 choose where to live, data shows. The Greens have accused Tasmania's child protection service of leaving vulnerable young people "high and dry" as new data reveals children as young as 10, who are known to the system, are allowed to choose where they live.
Key points: Data released to the Greens shows an increasing number of Tasmanian children known to the Child Safety Service are on "self-selected placement".Self-selected placement is when a child known to the child protection system is effectively able to choose where they live.While it's aimed at teenagers, the documents show it's an option taken by children as young as 10. Data released to the party under right to information laws shows an increasing number of children over the past three years have been identified by the Child Safety Service as on "self-selected placement", meaning they had effectively vetoed the living arrangements put in place by child protection officers. Out-of-home care ends for many young people at 18, but there's a push around Australia to extend it to age 21. Shelley Farmer remembers growing up in out-of-home care as a tumultuous and, at times, traumatic experience.
Key points: Young people are not eligible for residential or foster care after the age of 18 in most states and territoriesIn Western Australia, 14 young people are in a trial with care extended until the age of 21Victoria will raise the age of eligibility for out-of-home care to 21 on January 1 "I remember there was a lot of people, a lot of badges, a lot of white cars, a lot of flash offices that we were put into and had to play with certain toys while adults spoke," she said. Coronavirus is causing a rare inflammatory syndrome in some US children but pushing case for mask wearing remains difficult. Kale Wuthrich watched doctors surround his son Cooper in the emergency room, giving him fluids through IV tubes, running a battery of tests and trying to stabilise him.
Key points: Hundreds of children across the US have been diagnosed with the rare condition, which comes after a COVID-19 infectionDoctors are not yet sure why some kids get the syndrome and others don't, saying avoiding catching the virus is bestBut the parents of one child with the syndrome say it can be difficult to encourage people to wear masks and take precautions He was enveloped by the confusion and fear that had been building since his 12-year-old suddenly fell ill weeks after a mild bout with the coronavirus. "He was very close at that point to not making it, and basically they told me to sit in the corner and pray," Mr Wuthrich said. Cyclabilities program helps Canberra kids with additional needs learn to ride a bike.
Learning to ride a bike is an important childhood milestone, but it's not one every kid gets a chance to reach.
Many children with additional needs never learn how to ride on two wheels — which is where an award-winning program comes in. Cyclabilities was started in Canberra six years ago as a community-based allied therapy program, supporting children with additional needs to learn to ride a bike and develop road safety skills. For six-year-old twins John and Emma Hummel, who began Cyclabilities at the beginning of last year, the program has been life-changing.
"It's been really great, they've come a really long way," mum Cathy said. "They have gone from having no cycling experience to John being really close to being able to go on his pedals, and his twin sister is riding completely independently now. Hearing-impaired children graduate from Shepherd Centre, despite shift to online therapy - ABC News. Five-year-old Imogen Munkara-Kerr cannot wait to start school next year.
Key points: Record number of hearing impaired children graduate from the Shepherd CentreCOVID forced many into telehealth therapyConcerns some children are missing out due to the pandemic In the classroom she will be able to understand and answer her teacher's questions as well as any other child, which is remarkable given she has a fraction of their hearing ability. Being diagnosed with profound hearing loss as an infant left her parents wondering if mainstream education would be possible.
But thanks to some early intervention and therapy through the Shepherd Centre, her communication skills have grown exponentially. "We've noticed a huge improvement … her speech and language is on par with her hearing peers," her mother Catherine Munkara-Kerr said. It was a far cry from how she felt in the aftermath of her daughter's diagnosis. Family law experts reject Government's plan to merge Family Court as Parliament debate looms - ABC News. A proposal to merge the Family Court with the Federal Circuit Court has come under heavy criticism from parliamentarians and the legal profession.
Key points: The Government wants to merge the Family Court into another court system to make it simplerThe proposal has met opposition from the Labor Party, crossbenchers and some within the legal professionThe first chief justice of the Family Court wants its specialisation retained The Government has said the merger, which it aims to progress through Parliament this week, will provide benefits to families going through separation by making it simpler and easier to navigate. However, independent MP Zali Steggall, a former barrister who worked in the Family Court, said a merger would hurt Australian families. Alice Springs youth drop-in centre aims to keep children safe throughout the night - ABC News. A 24-hour drop-in centre in Alice Springs that provides young people with a place to safely hang out overnight could be "exactly what the community needs", according to the manager of a youth service in the town.
The drop-in centre will operate 24 hours a day on weekends until December 17 this year The trial period will run until the end of the Christmas school holidays in January 2021The Minister for Territory Families says children will not be permitted to sleep at the facility The Youth Outreach and Re-engagement Team Hub — which already operates as a daytime centre — has had its hours extended throughout Friday and Saturday nights as part of a trial funded by the Northern Territory Government. "The community is concerned about kids walking around at night, so this could allay the concern of the community and provide somewhere where the kids want to go," Central Australia Youth Link-Up Service general manager Blair McFarland said. Law reform calls grow louder after suicide of 11-year-old Annaliese Ugle - ABC News. The mother of an 11-year-old girl who took her own life after her accused rapist was released on bail has cautiously welcomed a proposal for law reform making it harder for those accused of child sexual abuse to be released.
Key points: Annaliese was allegedly abused over a period of seven monthsPolice did not oppose bail for her alleged rapistHer family want WA bail laws reformed Annaliesse Ugle's family said her desperate actions were prompted by the release on bail of a man accused of sexually abusing her. Shadow police minister Peter Katsambanis yesterday asked WA Police Minister Michelle Roberts whether the Government supported a request for reform, referred to as Annaliesse Ugle's Law. Alice O'Brien uses hidden talent to paint 'beautiful' art, process relentless bullying and come out on top - ABC News. When Raylene Garwood first saw the artwork of 11-year-old Alice O'Brien advertised online, she was stunned.
"I was so interested in what she was producing, I reached out to the family," said Ms Garwood, a counsellor who works with traumatised war veterans in Tasmania. It was then she learned that Alice had started painting to help recover from the trauma of severe bullying at school. Ms Garwood, from Open Arms Veterans and Family Counselling in Launceston, invited Alice to run an art therapy workshop for traumatised female veterans. Bullied all the way to hospital Alice lives in a small town called Longford, about 15 minutes away from Launceston, and has not attended school since early September. Ban junk food ads on public transport and other WA Government property, health agencies say - ABC News. Leading health agencies including the Telethon Kids Institute and the Cancer Council want the WA Government to immediately stop advertising junk food on government property like bus shelters, billboards and next to train stations.
Key points: The health costs of junk food far outweigh ad revenue, the agencies sayTheir report says a quarter of WA children are overweight or obeseBut it warns opposition from industries could be a big obstacle to any ban The agencies have released a new report which says it will not only improve people's health but will help save the Government hundreds of millions of dollars over the next decade in the fight against obesity and other chronic diseases. The Cancer Council's director of cancer prevention, Melissa Ledger, said the ban would be easy for the State Government to put in place.
"We really want to see the Government stop allowing junk food industries to advertise on their property," she said. Sixteen children allegedly sexually abused at NSW Mid-North Coast childcare centre - ABC News. An investigation into a major online paedophile network has found 16 children from one NSW Mid-North Coast childcare centre were allegedly sexually abused by a former worker. A 27-year-old Kendall man has been charged with more than 300 offencesPolice allege he is part of an international paedophile ring and have arrested 14 othersAt least 46 children have been abused, some as young at 16 months The Australian Federal Police (AFP) said the operation was one of Australia's most significant efforts targeting child exploitation, with 146 tip-offs to authorities in Europe, Asia, the United States, Canada and New Zealand.
The AFP and NSW Police have arrested 14 men, who are facing a total of 828 charges for child abuse offences. The alleged offenders are accused of producing and sharing child abuse material to a wide-reaching online network in Australia and overseas. Real-life aged care home for four-year-olds an intergenerational winner in Wellington, NSW - ABC News. 'Don't call me cute': Bullied boy with dwarfism Quaden Bayles and mum Yarraka share reality of going 'viral' - ABC News.
He has always attracted an audience, people staring, pointing. Sometimes it's discreet but it has always been there, strangers photographing and filming him. Long before he became an internet phenomenon, when he was still a toddler, there was constant negative attention when he went out. The New Zealand women trapped in Australia and imprisoned in abuse under the Hague Convention - ABC News.
It's a nightmare scenario that is a common plight for international women living under the shadow of domestic violence in Australia. Don Dale officer behind camera says tear-gassing should not have happened - ABC News. The images of teenagers being tear-gassed at a youth detention centre in Darwin have been seen around Australia but the man behind the camera that day has remained silent until now. Canberra magistrate Bernadette Boss complained Supreme Court made it impossible to protect children - ABC News.
Walking to school was common in the 1980s but now we drive our kids in record numbers - ABC News. In the 1970s and '80s most of us walked or rode a bike to primary school without thinking too much about it. Cars were expensive and few families had more than one, so if your school was close and the rain or heat wasn't terrible, walking or cycling was the most obvious way to get there. Townsville community leaders, criminologists and police suggest ways to tackle youth crime - ABC News. The families of young offenders responsible for Townsville's youth crime scourge must be included in any proposed solutions to the problem, community leaders, police and academics say.
Calls for Tasmanian children in controversial NT program to be brought home - ABC News. There are calls for the Tasmanian Government to bring home six children who are in a controversial program in the Northern Territory. Clown Doctors take to technology to help ease children's anxiety during COVID-19 restrictions - ABC News. 'Home-like' refuge aims to prevent Canberra children as young as eight from sleeping rough on the streets - ABC News. National Stroke Week: 11-year-old Kaylah survived a stroke and wants to warn others - ABC News. The Tasmanian police officer who gets kids off the street - ABC News.
Indigenous-run work camp 'breaking the cycle of youth crime' by teaching at-risk kids bush skills - ABC News. Coronavirus anxiety in kids leads to big surge in interest in mindfulness app - ABC News. Jack Trewin's sudden death sparks push for epilepsy awareness - ABC News. Child removal 'breaking parents', mother says, as report reveals high levels of dissatisfaction - ABC News. Rewarding participation in junior sport doesn't make kids soft, it makes them come back - ABC News. At-risk students not allowed to attend school during coronavirus lockdown, watchdog says - ABC News. Mothers play an increasingly large and shocking role in South-East Asian child sexual abuse - ABC News. Child victim of domestic violence breaks his silence, describing horrors of his abusive stepfather - ABC News.
Coronavirus has changed the advice around screen time. Here's what it is now - ABC News. My son needed regular blood transfusions, but now coronavirus threatens the survival of children like him. By Jessica Lake Updated 35 minutes agoSun 12 Apr 2020, 12:32am Almost two years ago, our world fell apart.
Respite foster carers provide support, laughter and love a few days at a time. Posted about 3 hours agoThu 9 Apr 2020, 11:00pm. Productivity Commission calls for overhaul of NT's 'fragmented' child services system. 'Invisible' victims of teenage violence are already suffering in silence. The legal system is making the problem worse. I thought I was helping a vulnerable orphan escape poverty. Then I realised I could be making her situation worse.
The lost kids: Why hundreds of children run away from Victorian state care each year. Children in the Democratic Republic of Congo mine for coltan and face abuse to supply smartphone industry. Greta Thunberg tells climate protesters in Bristol change won't happen overnight. George Clooney 'saddened' by Nespresso link to child labour in Guatemala. Thousands of Australians becoming parents to relatives without adequate support, report says. Over 200 NSW family day care providers closed and license approvals plummet after government crackdown. What we're getting wrong about domestic violence following death of Hannah Clarke and her three children. Less is more when it comes to children's toys and quality play time, expert says. Family law inquiry to hear push for children to have more influence in custody cases. Brett has 15 sperm donor-conceived children. This is the 'magic' story of meeting one of them. My wife and I rode the IVF rollercoaster together. My role was to be strong for her but I needed help too.
Doctor, parents detained in Egypt after 12-year-old dies from genital cutting. Pushing parental leave in Australia to help close the gender pay gap. Girl, 3, found dead in hot car in Morwell. Child Next Door report paints grim picture of exploitation, trafficking in Queensland. Could the science of kindness make the world a better place? - Science News - ABC News. Australian woman gains custody of her son five years after he went to PNG with his father. Why experts say it is easier than you think to accidentally leave a child in a car. Documenting the plight of China's 7 million 'left-behind' children. Child swallows potentially deadly magnetic balls sold as 'toys' online that are banned in Australian stores.
Drag queens reading to kids in Brisbane library confronted by UQ Liberal National Club members. Are we grooming kids for sporting greatness too early? Some clubs certainly think so. How safe are GPS trackers for children — and what should you know before buying one? Short-sightedness in kids was rising long before they took to the screens. He changed the life of a young 'crim' — but for nearly 40 years, this former cop had no idea. Inside the alternative program keeping Logan's children off the streets and out of custody. Christmas warnings as study shows even a 'sip' of alcohol can lead to toxic drinking habits in kids. Half of all Australian kids have hands on mobile phones, according to Communication and Media Authority survey. Chrissie Foster urges MPs to strip Catholic seal of confession's mandatory reporting exemption. Australia called to reassess ties to Cambodian microfinance amid reports of child labour, debt bondage. Ice Cream the award-winning hen providing therapy for special needs students.
Teen transforms 'yucky' school toilets into safe space for girls having a tough day. Move over monkey bars, 'bush play' is the new way for apartment kids. A child's online gaming obsession and how this family overcame it. I wanted to punish my daughter with a no-frills phone — but it didn't go according to plan. Cooking to combat homelessness as teens learn skills to keep them off the street. How Lego therapy can be a 'massive win' for kids with autism and their families. How should an adopted child maintain a relationship with their birth family? Commercial surrogacy debated as UN envoy prepares final report on rights of children.
Alliance Against Depression — WA trial already getting results. North Fitzroy kindergarten abandons plastic toys in favour of sticks and mud to help kids develop. Families take extended breaks from city living and turn their kids into 'road scholars' Moderate video gaming unlikely to make teens depressed and lonely, study finds. Does Australia have one of the least generous paid parental leave schemes in the OECD? - Fact Check. Teaching your kids about good nutrition? Try ditching the word 'healthy'
Foster care training streamlined to encourage more Canberrans to open their homes and hearts. Australians like me are ending up in jail and your tax cut won't help. Play School reveals Indigenous doll Kiya for NAIDOC Week. Entrepreneurs push for schools to provide better job-skills preparation. Foster carers in South Australia claim they are being forced into accepting lower payments. The brain benefits of looking up from your phone - Health - ABC News. Indigenous maternity support program sees 50 per cent reduction in pre-term births. Witchcraft has a dark side in Uganda, and children are falling victim. School violence inquiry hears of assaults, bullying that left Canberra student with permanent scars.
Up series director reflects on his grand social experiment and how Britain has changed. Alice Springs youth service at capacity after opening seven nights a week. Five per cent of applicants processed through National Redress Scheme amid 'wave of reforms'