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The front cover of the Little Children Are Sacred report. |
Calls for independent inquiry into child abuse in the Territory
Thursday, 29 October 2009
NORTHERN TERRITORY, November 12, 2009: The NT government has fulfilled less than half of the recommendations of the Little Children Are Sacred report, which prompted the NT intervention, a report shows.
NT Minister for Child Protection Malarndirri McCarthy on Wednesday handed down the first annual report by the Children's Commissioner showing that the NT government had only fully adopted 12 of the recommendations made by the Little Children are Sacred report in 2007.
She said the commissioner's findings had prompted her decision to seek the independent inquiry, which would examine the recent cases of alleged abuse as well as the Territory's child protection system.
"What the commissioner's report has highlighted to me is that we were starting to perhaps go off course and I have now pulled it back directly on course and, that said, we must maintain the care of our children as the absolute priority," Ms McCarthy told reporters in Darwin.
The announcement comes just two weeks after the Department of Health and Families was accused of failing to fully investigate warnings about a baby that ended up with brain damage.
Several similar cases emerged in the days that followed.
Child protection workers spoke out about being confronted with a huge backlog of cases, hundreds of which, they said, had not been touched in years.
When the cases emerged, Ms McCarthy announced that Children's Commissioner Howard Bath would compile a report looking into the Territory's child abuse notification system and report back by the end of the year.
It was revealed on Wednesday that this report would still go ahead.
Country Liberals child protection spokeswoman Jodeen Carney spoke out against the internal report when it was announced and called on the Henderson government to commission an independent report.
Independent Gerry Wood, who helped keep Labor in power when he backed the Henderson government in a no-confidence motion in August, entered the debate and put pressure on the government to move forward with the independent inquiry.
"This is the government listening to the concerns being raised and acting on it," Ms McCarthy said.
Ms McCarthy declined to answer suggestions she had bowed to pressure, but conceded she had taken Ms Carney's comments into consideration.
"But, at the end of the day, I have the information that comes to me and I've got to make the decision that best suits our government."
Ms Carney said she welcomed the fact that the government had broadened the scope of the inquiry, but questioned how independent it would be with the NT government's children's commissioner on the board.
"The minister has back-flipped," Ms Carney said in a statement.
"We remain concerned about the minister's handling of this important portfolio - her incompetence has been staggering."
Ms Carney said she was surprised the terms of reference for the inquiry did not include any mention of resourcing within the child protection system.
Ms McCarthy said public servants, as well as members of the public, were encouraged to make submissions to the inquiry.
"By no means have I ever sought to see a witch-hunt of any staff who want to raise issues about child protection," she said.
In 2006, widespread concern erupted after NT Crown Prosecutor Nanette Rogers told ABC's Lateline program of horrific instances of child abuse in Aboriginal communities.
In response, the NT government commissioned a report into child sexual abuse in the Territory, chaired by Rex Wild and Pam Anderson.
The federal government subsequently used the report as justification for its controversial intervention into Northern Territory communities shortly after.
The NT government committed to adopting 42 of the report's 97 recommendations.
The report also resulted in the Howard government launching its unprecedented intervention into remote Aboriginal communities.
Two years on and billions of dollars later, the commissioner's report has found the child protection system is still struggling to cope.
"With each report there has been active steps taken and real dollars put into child protection in the Northern Territory," Ms McCarthy said.
"Don't for a minute think that this is an inquiry that is going to go nowhere." - AAP
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