The child protection and family law systems are not protecting children sufficiently, argues Professor Patrick Parkinson AM.

In the wake of the death of Kyla Rogers, Professor Parkinson outlines the current problems in an interview with ABC Radio's The World Today:

"One of the problems is that child protection systems are state based and the family law system is federal.

"And there's lots of issues around different courts dealing with the families, communication between the two and so on.

"We've certainly made some improvements over the years, but we've got a long way to go."

Professor Parkinson agrees that the court system needs more power.
"Early on, when it comes into the court system, there should be a risk assessment that we find out what is known about the family, that we find out if there are risks, if there are safety concerns.
"And it's not about the end of the process - when the judge hears it - it's about the early on in the process that we gather that information.

"So as far as possible we can assess what risk there is to the mother or to the child."
View the transcript - Deaths spark calls for legal reform - The World Today