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- 28 June 2007
Aboriginal Child Sexual Abuse
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The Hon. HENRY TSANG (Parliamentary Secretary) [9.34 p.m.]: Members of this House would have been disturbed by the report of the Northern Territory Government inquiry into the protection of Aboriginal children from sexual abuse. The key findings of the report were that sexual abuse was widespread in some Aboriginal communities and often went unreported. It found that Aboriginal people were not the only victims and not the only perpetrators of sexual abuse. The authors of the report, Rex Wild, QC, and Pat Anderson, found that the abuse was a continuation of past and current social problems developed over many years. Sadly, existing programs were not properly coordinated to break this cycle of violence. The authors of the report noted that it was "impossible to set communities on the path to recovery from the sexual abuse of children without dealing with the basic services and social ills". This tragedy is a matter above party politics and requires urgent attention by the Northern Territory and Federal governments, working in cooperation with the affected Aboriginal communities.
We have heard the Prime Minister's response and it has surprised many people in its scope and approach. We have been told the basic framework of his policing approach, but we are yet to hear the details, such as the involvement of the local communities and government. The report contained 97 recommendations to tackle this deep-seated problem. However, Rex Wild remarked last night on Lateline Business that the Prime Minister had failed to adopt any of the recommendations. He remarked that although the report's first recommendation was to declare the sexual abuse of children a national emergency, an act which the Prime Minister has accomplished, the Federal Government did not appear to have heeded any of the other recommendations. The report highlighted the need for collaboration, and Wild noted in his interview:
The second part of that first recommendation was that there be a collaborative undertaking between the Northern Territory Government and the Australian Government in consultation with Aboriginal people and that has not happened. So to that extent recommendation one has not been given effect to.
Asked how he felt about that, he replied:
... we are disappointed with that.
The fact is that only the Federal Government has the overwhelming financial means to deal with the problems. It has a moral obligation to tackle the problem. If it holds the wellbeing of Aboriginal communities at heart, it will implement its policies in cooperation with the Northern Territory Government and local Aboriginal communities. This is a serious matter and it should not be about playing politics before a Federal election. As Fred Chaney, the former Liberal Federal Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, said in April 2007:
We should have learned by now that you can't solve these things by centralised bureaucratic direction. You can only educate children in a school at the place where they live ? the lesson we've learned is that you need locally based action, local resourcing, local control to really make changes. But I think governments persist in thinking you can direct from Canberra ... that you can have programs that run out into communities that aren't owned by those communities, that aren't locally controlled and managed, and I think surely that is a thing we should know doesn't work.
This is not simply a policing matter, and the report identifies the key areas that need to be tackled. Among the 97 recommendations two key issues are identified: education and a reduction in alcohol consumption. The compulsory medical check for all Aboriginal children under the age of 16 was not mentioned. How will this be implemented? Will this be done in communities where sexual abuse is not systemic? If the Prime Minister believes that sexual abuse is such a hideous crime, will he also extend it to the white community? If the Prime Minister believes that the protection of women and children in Aboriginal communities is so important, no-one can ignore the obvious question: Why did it take so long to act, and why was it such an unprecedented intervention just four months before an election? Many health experts believe that the checks should be voluntary and the focus should be on more than just the evidence of sexual assault. There are many serious health issues in Aboriginal communities that need to be addressed.
My concern is that the Prime Minister's approach does not involve community consultation; it is an ambush. It is intimidating for local communities that they have not been included in the process. Genuine engagement is needed with local communities. One of the findings in the report is that most Aboriginal people are willing and committed to helping their children and stopping the abuse. Historically, John Howard's approach has been proven to be unworkable. Many Aboriginal people remember the trauma of the stolen generation and have a real fear of government and authority.
We need to reach out and involve the Aboriginal community in coordinated efforts to overcome significant social disadvantage that plague so many Aboriginal communities. The Federal Government's plan must deliver real and long-term strategies to address not only child sexual abuse but also other consequences of social disadvantage such as poor general mental health, reduced life expectancy, family violence, lack of education and employment opportunities, low self-esteem and social dislocation. [ Time expired.]
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