The Northern Territory Government must heed the calls from the Northern Territory Children's Commissioner, Shahleena Musk, and National Commissioner for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People, Sue-Anne Hunter, to halt proposed legislative reforms and instead call an independent inquiry led by the Commissioners.
"We have seen decades of these systems failing the Northern Territory's children, and generations of politicians who rush reform and ignore the voices of those they claim to be protecting. The reforms the NT Government is trying to rush through include changes to the Aboriginal Child Placement Principle, and to do so without consulting First Nations communities risks repeating the mistakes of the past," says Dr Simone Gristwood the Executive Director of Jesuit Social Services' Justice Project.
There have been multiple Royal Commissions, reviews and inquiries that have made recommendations which have not been fully implemented or inadequately resourced by government including: The Little Children are Sacred (2007), Growing Them Strong, Together (2010), the Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the NT (2016-17). A properly resourced, independent review would provide scope for learning from these previous reviews to make the systemic changes that are needed to protect the NT's children. Without considering the wider failures of the domestic violence, housing, disability, and mental health systems any reform is unlikely to improve to lives of Territorians.
"The Aboriginal Child Placement Principle exists due to the shocking history of forced removal of First Nations children, and to rush reform without adequate consultation and a properly resourced independent inquiry risks doing more damage than good. It is essential that the wellbeing of the children, families and communities are the focus of these changes, and that any reform complies with the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples."
"The Commissioners are offering their expertise and experience and if the NT Government is serious about protecting children then they must listen," says Dr Gristwood.
