Media Release
MEDIA RELEASE
– 22 June 2007
SNAICC Chairperson Ms
Muriel Bamblett has called for proper consultation by the federal
government with Indigenous child and family services, expressing
concerns that the policies the government will put in place are
not the comprehensive child protection plan required to turn around
abuse in remote communities.
Prime Minister Told of
Neglect and Abuse in the Territory Four Years Ago, says Chair of
Peak Indigenous Children’s Services Body
In response to the Federal
Government's emergency child protection measures in the Northern
Territory the Chairperson of the Secretariat of National Aboriginal
and Islander Child Care (SNAICC), Muriel Bamblett, has called for
proper consultation with Indigenous organisations and communities
in order to truly tackle the causes of child abuse.
“Indigenous agencies and communities have been crying out
for a service response for decades,” Ms. Bamblett said today.
“Four years ago SNAICC produced a report called State of Denial
which called for a comprehensive framework and service response
for child protection and family services in the Northern Territory.
Both the territory and the Federal governments failed to respond."
" I spoke to the Prime Minister about child abuse in the territory
four years ago. He told me then that states and territories were
doing fine,” she said.
“While we commend the Federal Government for recognising,
belatedly, that this is a national emergency, the measures they
say they will put in place are not the comprehensive child protection
plan required to turn around abuse in remote communities.”
“This policy is ill considered and ‘media-release’
deep. Instead of implementing the recommendations of the Inquiry
into the Protection of Aboriginal Children from Sexual Abuse in
co-operation with the Indigenous community and the NT Government,
the Federal Government has run rough-shod over the work of the inquiry.”
“There are no measures in the Prime Minister’s statement
to set up services for children who are abused or for the communities.
What is to happen to them if they are found to be abused? There
are no culturally competent therapeutic or kinship care services
in the Territory.”
“If we had been consulted we would have given the Federal
Government our professional advice that behaviour only changes when
people are empowered and given positive encouragement. This punitive
approach will only have a short term impact – it doesn’t
address the underlying issues.”
“Rather than empower us to sort this out, this policy of taking
away land and community control will take away responsibility and
merely create further dependency.”
“We know that this is an emergency and Indigenous leaders
have been saying this for years – but we will only solve the
problems of child abuse if Aboriginal communities and professional
services are empowered, engaged and drive this process.”
For media comment:
Ms Muriel Bamblett
– SNAICC Chairperson (03) 9489 8099
You
can download the full text pdf version of this media release here
(44 KB)
Related resources and
links
SNAICC's previous
Media Statement of 20 June 2007 calling
for federal government consultation with Indigenous communities
and children's services is here.
Information on the Federal
Government's Emergency Response to protect Aboriginal children
in the NT is available on the FaCSIA website here.
(please note, clicking on this link will take you out from SNAICC's
website)
The Northern Territory
Government's report from its Board of Inquiry into Protection
of Aboriginal Children from Sexual Abuse was released on
15 June 2007. You can find it on their website here.
(please note, clicking on this link will take you out from SNAICC's
website)
SNAICC's full submission
to the NT Government's inquiry is available on our Briefing
Papers pages here.
- published 25
June 2007
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