Whistleblower's damning child removal claim

Rachel Mealey: Hello and welcome to The World Today. It's Thursday the 11th of April. I'm Rachel Mealey coming to you from the lands of the Turrbal and Yugara people in Brisbane. Today the Prime Minister's plan to boost Australia's manufacturing and clean energy sectors. He says it's not protectionism, it's the new competition. And snip snip, a rise in the number of unwanted kittens and puppies fuels calls for free de-sexing programs.

Jessica Wylde: Just in the last few weeks alone we've had over 40 puppies come through the doors, we've got another 10 coming tomorrow. It's just a constant sort of wheel at the moment of these dogs which is obviously creating just so many pressures.

Rachel Mealey: First today, the moments after a child's birth should be full of joy, exhaustion and relief. But a whistleblower in South Australia has raised damning allegations of how Child Protection Authorities are removing newborn babies from some mothers within minutes of the child's first breath. She says in some instances children are being taken before the mother has even delivered the afterbirth. Stephanie Richards reports.

Stephanie Richards: A hospital delivery ward is a busy place, filled with doctors, nurses and nervous family. In South Australia, some mothers are being confronted by Child Protection workers moments after birth, tasked with removing their babies.

Jane: It's a time where there's a lot of hope. You ask these women, they want the baby's life to be different. But in the end we don't give them any hope. In some ways they're also deemed as not worthy. We don't treat them like human beings.

Stephanie Richards: Jane, not her real name, has first hand knowledge of how South Australia's Child Protection Department removes newborns from public hospitals. The ABC has voiced her comments to protect her identity. She says she can no longer stay silent.

Jane: You can hear some horrendous stories where women still haven't actually completed the birthing process. As in they haven't delivered the afterbirth or something like that. And the department's already in there removing the baby. Or they're needing to get sutured because they've had an episiotomy, yet the department's sort of in there.

Stephanie Richards: Last financial year, more than 100 babies aged under one month were removed from their mothers in SA. About a third of those were Aboriginal, and most were removed before they were one week old. The mothers were the subjects of what's called an unborn child concern, sent to the state's Department for Child Protection. They're lodged when expectant mothers are accused of being unfit to parent, living in inappropriate housing, or not showing up to prenatal appointments. Jane says women are often not told their baby will be taken.

Jane: Up to 80% of mothers don't know before they've had the baby. So you can imagine going into hospital, you've been pregnant for nine months, and then all of a sudden in comes the Department for Child Protection with a piece of paper that says we're going to take your baby away.

Stephanie Richards: Jane says the department is worried mothers would have their babies elsewhere if they were told about the removal in advance, and police are present at most removals. SA Health Policy states that infants are not to be separated from their mother other than for medical reasons until powers authorising the removal of a child have been invoked. But Jane says it's not uncommon for the Child Protection Department to ask hospital staff to take a baby out of a ward under false pretenses, so the child is already separated when the mother is notified.

Jane: They might need some sort of care, some sort of fictitious sort of reasoning so the baby's not in the room. There's a range of things that happen which legally shouldn't happen until the notice has been served.

Stephanie Richards: She says mothers were often so traumatised after their baby had been taken that they left hospital early. One mother presented at an emergency department after experiencing significant bleeding. And while SA Health Policy states a care plan should be developed for the mother, Jane says the mothers are often left without support. She said more needs to be done earlier in the pregnancy to prevent removals happening in the first place.

Jane: We need to be open and honest with families and be clear if you don't do this, this is what's going to happen. Other states that actually have systems where they do things like family group conferencing, they get services in early, have far fewer removals than happen in South Australia.

Stephanie Richards: The ABC requested interviews with SA's Department and Minister for Child Protection, but both declined. The government has not denied the allegations. In a statement, Minister Katrine Hildyard said she expected the department to treat families with respect. The department's chief executive, Jackie Bray, said the agency works with families and service providers to ensure it can achieve best possible outcomes for infants identified as being at risk of harm. A review of current policy is due to be completed by the end of the year.

Rachel Mealey: Stephanie Richards and Angus Randall reporting. It's news that won't come as a surprise to Australia's many renters. Prices for rental properties have shot up markedly in the past year, according to new data from PropTrack. Capital City saw the biggest jumps, but renters in regional areas are still being slugged too. In the ACT, the rental market is more stable, leading some to question whether the laws there restricting rent increases are having an impact. Alexandra Humphries reports.

Alexandra Humphries: 19-year-old casual worker Charley spent last year living in a run-down house with broken steps and an outside toilet in Brisbane. With a limited budget and no rental record, she says it was the best she could get.

Charley: If you stood at one end of the house and looked to the other end of the house, none of the door frames were a frame anymore. They were kind of just, like, lent over rectangles and the doors couldn't really fit. It was just kind of embarrassing to have people over and be like, oh, you can't... Don't open that door because it'll just fall out. Or, like, oh, if you want to use the bathroom, you'll have to go outside.

Alexandra Humphries: She's just moved in with her boyfriend Callum, who's studying and working part-time. They're sharing a house with two others. Callum says they kept a close eye on vacancies and saved for a deposit for months before they found their current home.

Callum: It is still kind of ridiculous when I look at my paycheck from work and I realise that if I get this amount this fortnight, then my rent is, like, half my paycheck or at least a third. I don't think we'd be able to honestly afford anywhere else if we weren't sharing with others at this point.

Alexandra Humphries: They've got a lease for the rest of the year and they're crossing their fingers the rent won't increase after that. It's a constant worry for many Australians. New figures from PropTrack have found Australia's median advertised rents rose by 3.4% in the March quarter and 9% in the last year. Capital city rents rose by 13.6% in a year, or about $75, driven by particularly sharp rises in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth.

Emma Greenhalgh: Shocking, not surprising, but diabolical.

Alexandra Humphries: Emma Greenhalgh is from National Shelter, which advocates for the housing needs of low-income households.

Emma Greenhalgh: I think what we're seeing is a market that's running away. It's completely unsustainable, you know, for people to be trying to live within this housing market and it's detrimental, you know, to people's health and wellbeing.

Alexandra Humphries: In the ACT, the rent increase over the past quarter was just 1.6% and annually it was stable. Ms Greenhalgh believes it's worth investigating whether Canberra's laws restricting rent increases to no more than CPI plus 10% are having an impact.

Emma Greenhalgh: Given that the ACT is the only jurisdiction that has, let's call it, you know, a rent fairness formula in their tenancy legislation, it's the only one when it comes to houses in these figures where there's a very low quarterly change and actually a negative annual change. So I think it'd be interesting to see how that goes on, you know, in the next quarter.

Alexandra Humphries: Hobart was the only place where rents fell. They went down 1% in a year, or about $5 a week to $520. Ben Bartl is the principal solicitor for Tasmania's Tenants Union. He points out Tasmania's social housing waiting list is still growing despite the drop in rent prices.

Ben Bartl: It is possible that there is a peak in terms of where rents are at the moment and that's just because wages aren't increasing at the same levels as rents, which means that people are simply not able to pay any more money for their rental properties.

Alexandra Humphries: And the PropTrack figures focus on median advertised rents. So if you're already in a rental, your experience might be different.

Ben Bartl: People who live in rental properties are continuing to get rent increases. So this data is only for advertised properties, not properties where renters are already living. So there do continue to be rent rises. It's just for those people already in rental properties, not those looking.

Rachel Mealey: Ben Bartl from Tasmania's Tenants Union, ending that report by Alexandra Humphries and Stephanie Smail. The Prime Minister has announced a major shift in Australia's manufacturing policy. It's called the Future Made in Australia Act and will mean more government support for industries such as clean energy, batteries and critical minerals. While some have welcomed the move, arguing it will give our country a chance at competing with the rest of the world, others are urging caution. Alison Xiao reports.

Alison Xiao: A third of Australian households are using solar panels, but there's just one company in the country making them.

Richard Petterson: So Tindo Solar is Australia's only solar panel manufacturer right now. It's been a challenging market for manufacturers in general, I think, in Australia, but in the renewable sector, it's such a small space and Tindo is really the only one holding the candle.

Alison Xiao: Tindo Solar's chief executive Richard Petterson says it's an aggressive market with fierce global competition.

Richard Petterson: As you can imagine, if imported products are coming at a lower price, it means it's harder to compete with that product if you're an Australian manufacturer.

Alison Xiao: Now the Australian government is stepping in by overhauling its manufacturing policy. Its Future Made in Australia Act, announced today, is designed to offer more support for local producers. It's an initiative Tindo and Richard Petterson hope to capitalise on.

Richard Petterson: There's a great opportunity for businesses to, with the right support, scale to a level which will make us much more competitive on the global stage.

Alison Xiao: Speaking in Brisbane today, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says it marks a significant and urgent shift in industry policy. It'll be applying a more interventionist approach and funnelling taxpayer money into sectors like clean energy, batteries and critical minerals.

Anthony Albanese: Where government investment is required as a catalyst to facilitate that private sector investment, then we should be prepared to engage in providing loans or providing support to make sure that those industries can get off the ground.

Alison Xiao: The Prime Minister says it's about allowing Australia to stand on its own two feet. Giles Parkinson is the founder and editor of RenewEconomy.com. He says without this plan, Australia risks being left behind.

Giles Parkinson: What I think Albanese's speech recognises today is that there's a lot of competition. There's a lot of capital that wants to invest in this, but they're being attracted elsewhere because governments across the globe, and particularly in the US and in Europe, but also in North Asia, are doing similar things and they've already moved. They've provided incentives for manufacturers to set up in their countries and produce these new technologies. I think there's a realisation that if Australia doesn't move, then it's going to be left out.

Alison Xiao: The government hopes the policy will better coordinate investment for projects like its $1 billion program for solar panel manufacturing, announced in recent weeks. Giles Parkinson says these initiatives are about safeguarding our access to renewable technology.

Giles Parkinson: It's not because Australia thinks that it can beat China on costs, but it just thinks it's really important to have some sovereignty over their own supply chain.

Alison Xiao: More detail on the government's plan is expected in the federal budget in May, but Mr Parkinson says the industry wants action on a large scale.

Giles Parkinson: There's no point to putting a little bit of money into it because you're not doing enough. That argument goes to, if you're going to do this, then do it properly and go big and go hard.

Alison Xiao: But there are concerns that Labor's policy goes against principles of the free market. Warren Hogan is Chief Economic Advisor at Judo Bank. He says the government needs to be careful in its approach.

Warren Hogan: Where the government, I think, is going to get itself into trouble is if it tries to actually get into the game of picking winners at an industry or even firm level. This can easily go wrong just as well as it can go right. And the government's got to be very careful that it makes sure that the framework is transparent, that the objectives are clear and that it is facilitating the market economy and markets and private investment rather than them themselves entering into markets and trying to create outcomes. That's, I think, when they get themselves into trouble.

Alison Xiao: But he says the government may have no other choice but to intervene directly.

Warren Hogan: The reality is that there is intervention in this space occurring all across the world and if we want to play a role, the government is recognising that we need to provide some sort of government support and the direction of resources in this area.

Alison Xiao: Mr Hogan says there are concerns about Australia's ability to compete with larger economies, but it's an important step to take.

Warren Hogan: While we have scale challenges in Australia, we also have a great opportunity being on the doorstep of the world's growth engine of South Asia.

Alison Xiao: He says Australia's industry policy in recent decades has been haphazard and fragmented, but this framework is promising a clear plan.

Rachel Mealey: Alison Xiao. This is The World Today. Thanks for your company. There have been reports of a new wave of race hate crimes in Russia following the country's most deadly terror attack in 20 years last month. Four men of Central Asian descent have been charged over the mass shooting, but now others from minority groups in Russia say they're being subjected to increased discrimination. Europe correspondent Isabella Higgins has more.

Isabella Higgins: That's the sound of a group of young men verbally abusing a woman from a minority background at a train station in Moscow. After a number of expletives, they chant, Russia is for Russians, Moscow is for Moscovites. The video then shows the young men doing a Nazi salute as they step onto the train carriage. It was shared on a social media page called Asians of Russia. Underneath are a mix of comments, some outraged, others making further racist remarks. The ABC has spoken to a man who wants to be referred to only by his nickname, Johnny. He's from Tajikistan in Central Asia and says in recent weeks he too has been harassed by strangers.

Johnny: Two days ago we were sitting in a gazebo with friends near our house where people often pass by and well there was a woman and she yelled at us, Tajiks are sitting over there, terrorists.

Isabella Higgins: This is happening in the aftermath of the deadly terror attack on the Crocus city hall outside Moscow, where more than 140 people were killed last month. Four men, believed to be Islamic State militants from the Central Asian country of Tajikistan, were arrested and charged over the incident. Following this attack, there's been a crackdown on foreigners and immigrants, with a reported 400 deported from the St Petersburg region. Russian President Vladimir Putin told The Nation a tough approach is needed to protect all communities.

Vladimir Putin: We have every reason to believe that the main goal of those who ordered the bloody awful terrorist attack in Moscow was precisely to damage our unity. Russia cannot be the target of terrorist attacks by Islamic fundamentalists. We are a country that demonstrates a unique example of interfaith harmony and unity, of inter-religious and inter-ethnic unity.

Isabella Higgins: But those in the Tajik community like Johnny say they are now facing a new wave of race hate crimes.

Johnny: I'm taking the subway this morning and I can already see that all eyes are on Asians. When I take a seat, someone will stand up, leave, sit on another bench. But I'm not even doing anything. I'm harmless. I won't bite. I won't do anything.

Isabella Higgins: There are no official figures to quantify the latest reports, but a number of videos of verbal attacks have spread online in recent weeks. In 2021, a report by Amnesty International said violent racism was out of control in Russia and anyone who didn't appear to be of Slavic heritage was at risk. Those like Johnny fear it will only get worse.

Rachel Mealey: Europe correspondent Isabella Higgins. It's a principle upon which the modern Olympic Games were founded. Athletes must be amateurs and therefore can't be paid to compete. But in a significant break from that tradition, track and field athletes who compete at this year's Olympics in Paris will be paid for winning gold. It's been labelled a landmark decision that could change the future of the Games. Kamin Gock reports from London.

Kamin Gock: For 128 years, winning gold has been the pinnacle for an athlete at the Olympic Games. Now for those in track and field, they'll receive a cash prize of $75,000 as well. World Athletics, the international governing body for the sport, will hand out prize money for the winners of the 48 track and field events, with it split evenly for athletes in relay events. Here's World Athletics President, Sebastian Coe.

Sebastian Coe: I see this sitting firmly behind the principle and philosophy that where possible, the athletes have got to see a correlation between a sport that is financially growing and their own financial health and vibrancy.

Kamin Gock: The Olympics originated as an amateur sports event, so the International Olympic Committee does not award prize money. Instead, it distributes its revenue through international federations and national Olympic committees. The Australian Olympic Committee awards $20,000 to gold medalists, but only if that athlete continues to represent the country at an elite level the following year. Mr Coe says many athletes receive money from a number of sources, including their country's government, sporting bodies and sponsorship deals.

Sebastian Coe: This is a modest contribution in addition to that. This prize money for an Olympic Games gold medal is not to overshadow the Olympic Games.

Kamin Gock: World Athletics will pay for the prize money using the funding it receives from the IOC. The decision, however, may put pressure on other sporting federations to follow suit. The IOC says it's up to those governing bodies to determine how to best serve their athletes and develop their sport. For track and field athletes like 2023 World High Jump Champion, Yaroslava Mahuchikh, the announcement is welcome news.

Yaroslava Mahuchikh: Of course it's nice because every year, you work hard and if you look at what prize money the football player receives, and then in track and field, you think, oh my god, maybe I should change the game. But of course it's nice news for athletes.

Kamin Gock: Athletes will only receive the prize money if they are cleared of the usual anti-doping procedures. World Athletics has also announced it plans to extend the prize money to bronze and silver medalists at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

Rachel Mealey: Kamin Gock. As the cost of living crisis forces more and more Australians to cut costs and cut corners, many pet owners are avoiding paying to have their animals desexed. And that's led to a surge in the number of unwanted puppies being surrendered to animal shelters. Now, there are calls for desexing surgery to be subsidised or even provided for free, as Nick Grimm reports.

Nick Grimm: They were all alone in the world, but not anymore.

Adrian Oats: Oh, they're adorable. They're lots of fun. Very affectionate. A little bit needy at times, but fill my life with a lot of joy at the moment, that's for sure.

Nick Grimm: Adrian Oats is a foster carer for four German Shepherd puppies recently surrendered to an animal shelter in Melbourne. He's looking after the dogs until permanent homes can be found.

Adrian Oats: Yeah, I mean, it's always a little bit tough to say goodbye, whether it be to little puppies or little kittens, whatever it might be. But it fills us with a lot of joy knowing that they're going to obviously go to someone else and make a lot of other families very happy. So that always makes it a little bit easier. Why do you do it? For me and my partner in particular, I mean, we're quite young, but we've always wanted a pet, but also wanted to do a lot of travel, see the world. And obviously, you know, pets are a lot of responsibility. So we found that the happy medium for us in particular was fostering. It gave us the chance to sort of look after a little puppy, a little kitten, whatever it might be for a certain period of time, but then of course, give it back.

Nick Grimm: Right now, the services of animal foster carers like Adrian Oats are in high demand. The shelters find themselves inundated with unwanted pets.

Jessica Wylde: An absolute crisis with the number of puppies that are coming through the lost dogs home at the moment.

Nick Grimm: Dr Jessica Wylde is the director of veterinary services at the lost dogs home in Victoria, which has seen a surge in the number of puppies and kittens being surrendered.

Jessica Wylde: Just in the last few weeks alone, we've had over 40 puppies come through the doors. We've got another 10 coming tomorrow. It's just a constant sort of wheel at the moment of these dogs, which is obviously creating just so many pressures.

Nick Grimm: She believes too many animal owners are avoiding the cost of de-sexing their animals, only to end up with an even costlier headache.

Jessica Wylde: I think they see that initial cost of de-sexing and they sort of go, oh, that's, you know, maybe something that I can't afford right now. I'll take the risk and I should be able to watch my dog. And then something happens, an accident, and they end up with unexpected mating during those times. And then they end up with, you know, six, eight, 10 puppies.

Kieran McLoughlin: She is four months old, a oodle. Yep, healthy dog, smart dog. Just the perfect little dog, basically.

Nick Grimm: For some, like Melbourne man Kieran McLoughlin, the puppy glut has been a blessing, helping him and his fiancée find rescue dog Maggie to share their home.

Kieran McLoughlin: Yeah, I've always thought that's the thing to do. I guess in our situation, we couldn't believe that Maggie was given up. Like, you've got to be kidding. This is a great fortune for us. We'll take this dog, absolutely.

Nick Grimm: But many other animals might not be so lucky. And that's leading to calls for de-sexing of companion animals to be made free or at least heavily subsidised. For foster carer Adrian Oats, that's a no-brainer.

Adrian Oats: I think that it would be a massive benefit to society, but also the animals in general, if that was made freer at a heavily reduced cost, it would definitely solve a lot of the issues we're currently seeing within the world of fostering, that's for sure.

Rachel Mealey: That's pet foster carer Adrian Oats and Nick Grimm with our report. And that's all from the World Today team. Thanks for your company. I'm Rachel Mealey.