ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to draw together the connections between representation and risk in the context of child killing and provides discussion of the national framework in relation to child protection and family law. The pre-eminent development in children rights has been the best interest of the child principle, which has been applied to the areas of domestic child protection and family law. Children tend to fare better when they are involved in the decision-making processes regarding their care arrangements. Historically, the best interest of the child principle has not always prevailed nationally and internationally. The conditions of risk, as demonstrated in the cases, are created through the stages in which child endangerment develops, stages that are essentially decisions based on interactive relationships in which the child is a 'bit player'. Lack of trust between the parent and state agents, such as department of community services, as stated earlier, can exacerbate risks of endangerment to the child.
