Aboriginal "national emergency" Plan
Child abuse plan 'will fail'
JOHN Howard's plan to combat child sex abuse in Aboriginal communities through alcohol and porn bans, compulsory medical checks and extra police has been dismissed as a knee-jerk response doomed to fail.
The Prime Minister announced the radical plan yesterday, in which the commonwealth will assume control of Aboriginal towns on a five-year lease to eradicate the "national emergency" of sexual abuse he said was threatening a generation of indigenous youth.
The response to the measures in the overhaul has been lukewarm, however. Medical experts have said the plan for all Aboriginal children aged under 16 to have check-ups will plunge the Northern Territory's health system into crisis.
The liquor industry has said the alcohol ban would be a "nightmare" to implement - and that die-hard drinkers would find ways around it anyway. The porn industry has said a ban on X-rated material would not stop criminals from producing illegal videos or pictures.
The plan to recruit extra police for a crackdown on law and order - in part through the Australian Crime Commission being given wider scope - could stretch already full territory jails past breaking point, it was reported.
The plan to quarantine welfare payments to force parents to ensure children went to school and that money was not spent on alcohol was much more strict than an alternative developed by indigenous leaders.
But the Prime Minister has said extra funding would be provided to implement the measures announced. And Indigenous Affairs Minister Mal Brough said: "We are not actually conducting any budgeting here. This is an emergency operation."
Crisis
Australian Medical Association NT president Peter Beaumont said there were "nowhere near enough doctors in the territory" to conduct the checks. Bureau of statistics figures estimate there are more than 23,000 children eligible for the checks.
"And you can't just bring people in and train them in a few days and expect them to know how to communicate and deal with Aboriginal people."
Health workers in the territory have said the six-month ban on the sale, transport and consumption of take-away alcohol would be "an administrative nightmare" that would not stop problem drinkers from getting alcohol.
The liquor industry has said sellers should not have to bear the burden of enforcing the ban, while health workers fear it could produce a spike in drinkers suffering alcohol withdrawal.
The Eros Foundation has said the "worst of the worst" explicit material in the territory was bought from criminal gangs who sold direct to the public. The group also said it was already illegal to expose children to such material.
The organisation said it had told authorities what was happening but nothing had been done.
Doubts were also raised over the ability of the Northern Territory's prisons to cope with a possible influx of inmates, after a promised crackdown on policing in certain communities.
There was no response from the Federal Goverment on how a judicial system already struggling to house a disproportionate number of Aboriginal prisoners in usually full jails would cope with more inmates. Premiers were also lukewarm in response to the call to send police officers to the territory to boost numbers.
'Kneejerk nonsense'
The plan to quarantine 50 per cent of welfare payments to ensure the money was spent on the benefits of children was also more hardline than a plan put forward by indigenous leader Noel Pearson earlier this week.
Under that plan, a family assistance commission would have been established to take control of payments to parents or guardians who abused or neglected their children. Under Mr Howard's plan, anyone who has received welfare for two years will have their money quarantined.
The author of the report that sparked the shake-up, Boni Robertson, rejected the measures as "knee-jerk nonsense" that would "segregate and quarantine a section of the Australian community". Researchers have also described it as paternalistic.
But Mr Howard defended his radical measures yesterday: "We are dealing with children of the tenderest age who have been exposed to the most terrible abuse from the time of their birth, virtually.
"It is interventionist ... I accept that. But what matters more: the constitutional niceties or the care and protection of young children?"
- with The Australian
Child abuse plan 'will fail'
JOHN Howard's plan to combat child sex abuse in Aboriginal communities through alcohol and porn bans, compulsory medical checks and extra police has been dismissed as a knee-jerk response doomed to fail.
The Prime Minister announced the radical plan yesterday, in which the commonwealth will assume control of Aboriginal towns on a five-year lease to eradicate the "national emergency" of sexual abuse he said was threatening a generation of indigenous youth.
The response to the measures in the overhaul has been lukewarm, however. Medical experts have said the plan for all Aboriginal children aged under 16 to have check-ups will plunge the Northern Territory's health system into crisis.
The liquor industry has said the alcohol ban would be a "nightmare" to implement - and that die-hard drinkers would find ways around it anyway. The porn industry has said a ban on X-rated material would not stop criminals from producing illegal videos or pictures.
The plan to recruit extra police for a crackdown on law and order - in part through the Australian Crime Commission being given wider scope - could stretch already full territory jails past breaking point, it was reported.
The plan to quarantine welfare payments to force parents to ensure children went to school and that money was not spent on alcohol was much more strict than an alternative developed by indigenous leaders.
But the Prime Minister has said extra funding would be provided to implement the measures announced. And Indigenous Affairs Minister Mal Brough said: "We are not actually conducting any budgeting here. This is an emergency operation."
Crisis
Australian Medical Association NT president Peter Beaumont said there were "nowhere near enough doctors in the territory" to conduct the checks. Bureau of statistics figures estimate there are more than 23,000 children eligible for the checks.
"And you can't just bring people in and train them in a few days and expect them to know how to communicate and deal with Aboriginal people."
Health workers in the territory have said the six-month ban on the sale, transport and consumption of take-away alcohol would be "an administrative nightmare" that would not stop problem drinkers from getting alcohol.
The liquor industry has said sellers should not have to bear the burden of enforcing the ban, while health workers fear it could produce a spike in drinkers suffering alcohol withdrawal.
The Eros Foundation has said the "worst of the worst" explicit material in the territory was bought from criminal gangs who sold direct to the public. The group also said it was already illegal to expose children to such material.
The organisation said it had told authorities what was happening but nothing had been done.
Doubts were also raised over the ability of the Northern Territory's prisons to cope with a possible influx of inmates, after a promised crackdown on policing in certain communities.
There was no response from the Federal Goverment on how a judicial system already struggling to house a disproportionate number of Aboriginal prisoners in usually full jails would cope with more inmates. Premiers were also lukewarm in response to the call to send police officers to the territory to boost numbers.
'Kneejerk nonsense'
The plan to quarantine 50 per cent of welfare payments to ensure the money was spent on the benefits of children was also more hardline than a plan put forward by indigenous leader Noel Pearson earlier this week.
Under that plan, a family assistance commission would have been established to take control of payments to parents or guardians who abused or neglected their children. Under Mr Howard's plan, anyone who has received welfare for two years will have their money quarantined.
The author of the report that sparked the shake-up, Boni Robertson, rejected the measures as "knee-jerk nonsense" that would "segregate and quarantine a section of the Australian community". Researchers have also described it as paternalistic.
But Mr Howard defended his radical measures yesterday: "We are dealing with children of the tenderest age who have been exposed to the most terrible abuse from the time of their birth, virtually.
"It is interventionist ... I accept that. But what matters more: the constitutional niceties or the care and protection of young children?"
- with The Australian
