Australia is facing a ''national crisis'' of child neglect, abuse and domestic violence, according to the chief executive of the Australian Childhood Foundation, Joe Tucci.
Dr Tucci said the recent spate of family tragedies in Brisbane, Adelaide, Canberra, Pericoe and Cowra demonstrated the crisis had been ''brewing for a long time''.
''I think these cases were there anyway [but] it's like a Pandora's box has been opened. What has been generally disguised is now out in the open,'' he said.
''We have been in denial that somehow Australia has escaped abuse and violence of children, somehow it happens in other countries but not here.''
According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare's annual Child Protection Australia report, there were 58,000 substantiated cases of child abuse in Australia in 2006-07, an average of more than 1000 per week across the country.
But experts are unsure why family neglect and abuse cases has captured the nation's attention.
Uniting Care Australia national director Lin Hatfield Dodds said she was unable to identify a trigger.
''I'm not sure that anyone knows why, but we are reporting it [neglect] now more because of mandatory reporting, and people are more aware of neglect,'' she said.
Families Australia chief executive Brian Babington pointed to increased awareness of the dangers of neglect in the community.
''There is a greater awareness of these issues, and it's also true that we are not seeing any decrease in the number of families that are facing extreme vulnerability.
''Some families are in crisis, and we need to support those families to stop them getting into those crisis situations,'' he said.
''What the cases do show is a tragic and graphic illustration of Australia's appalling record in child abuse and neglect. This record has been there for a number of years, and its getting worse.''
Mr Babington applauded the Rudd Government's commitment to address the problem at a national level.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has called for states and territories to work together and establish a national child-protection system.
He has described recently-emerged cases of neglect as ''revolting''.
''As a nation, we must do better and can do better for the protection of our little ones,'' he said.
Dr Tucci said his foundation had supported a national approach to child protection for a long time.
''I think Kevin Rudd's idea is a good idea the only way forward is a national approach. [National Association for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect president] Sue Packer and I have been saying this for a long time'' he said.
''To treat child protection as eight different systems is to allow for variations that leave children at risk.''
Dr Packer said the tragedies ''just keep happening''.
She said people who committed horrific murders like those in Pericoe and Cowra saw the world differently, and they had often had ''extremely traumatic'' childhood experiences.
''You can't generalise, but early childhood trauma can be a big motivator for events like this. Their preoccupations are different, their needs are different, it's almost like they have unmeetable needs,'' she said.
''We have to stop things like this happening.''
The vicious axe triple murder in Cowra yesterday is the latest in a string of horrific cases that have rocked the country.
A mother and father in Brisbane were charged with neglect after the starvation death of 18-month-old twins about a week ago, while a mother in Adelaide was charged with neglecting five of her children.
The two cases were followed by a Canberra mother being charged with neglecting four of her children, and then the Pericoe case in which father Gary Bell [aka Gary Poxon] killed his three children and then himself.