Mixed emotions as Federal government's emergency intervention moves into WA

The Northern Territory’s emergency intervention arrived in West Australia last week.

Similar to trials currently underway in the NT, the Federal and WA governments announced that, from September, parents in Cannington and four communities in the Kimberley – Oombulgurri, Kununurra, Warmun and Wyndham – can have 70 per cent of their income support payments quarantined for the benefit of their children if they are deemed to be using the money inappropriately.

For those of us on the front line providing services and support to families most likely to be affected by these measures, it’s hard not to have mixed emotions.

It’s difficult to argue about the withdrawal of income support as a means of making sure parents send their kids to school or use their payments to buy food or pay the bills instead of alcohol or drugs.

But looking behind these measures, there are bigger questions at stake.

Is using a fairly large and blunt policy stick the best way to change the behaviour of problem parents long-term?

Doesn’t it make better sense to address the issues that lie at the heart of a parent’s behaviour rather than just addressing the symptoms?

Helping families and protecting children at risk is not going to be achieved simply through punitive measures such as quarantining welfare payments.

Helping someone become a good parent takes time, effort and resources.

We need to change people’s core behaviour.

Without question, we should be focussing more of our efforts and resources in the area of early intervention – giving early and ongoing assistance to parents and children who are vulnerable and most at risk.

Mission Australia’s own early intervention program, Pathways – which works with families in the Perth suburb of Girrawheen as well as in Brisbane and Sydney – helps parents facing a range of challenges, including poverty, mental health issues, long-term unemployment and domestic violence.

The bottom line with Pathways is that it’s about heading off problems before they begin. It’s also far more effective and cheaper than intervening when bad behaviour has become entrenched.

Faced with the rising tide of child abuse and neglect, Mission Australia understands the desire to reach for new policy mechanisms that might achieve immediate results.

But we can’t let our impulse for quick action blind us to the bigger issues at stake.

Without investing in strengthening families long-term, isolated efforts – such as quarantining income support – are likely to have limited or non-sustainable impact.

If we want parents to truly take responsibility for their actions and stand on their own two feet – protecting our kids in the process – then it really should be the main game in town.