The Northern Territory Government is set to revise its child protection laws, prioritizing child safety as the foremost consideration when deciding on the removal of children from their families, irrespective of their background. This move has sparked opposition from over 330 organizations.
On Wednesday morning, NT Minister for Child Protection Robyn Cahill revealed the proposed changes, describing them as the result of more than a year’s work. “Our focus for Territory kids is ensuring their safety and well-being above all else,” she stated.
The amendments will also broaden the scope of Family Responsibility Agreements, aiming to hold parents and families more accountable. These agreements will now be backed by court orders, compelling families to engage with the process or face repercussions.
Additionally, the duration of short-term protection orders will be capped at two years. A “strict structure” of measures will also be implemented to safeguard children who are at risk of being removed from their homes.
Short term protection orders will also be reduced to a maximum of two years, and a “strict structure” of measures must be upheld for children at risk of being removed.
Indigenous organisations argue these changes will undermine the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle, which aims to prevent unnecessary child removals and promote family reunification when separations occur.
A scathing joint statement from Aboriginal Peak Organisations Northern Territory (APONT) and SNAICC – Voice for our Children condemned the changes.
“Abolishing the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle, which the NT Government is already failing to uphold, is a race-based attempt to blame Aboriginal families for conditions created by government failure and moves us further from Closing the Gap targets,” it said.
“Removing children does not necessarily make them safer. Countless people carry life-long damage from out-of-home care experiences, particularly when cut off from family, culture, and Country.”
The announcement comes in the wake of the alleged murder of five-year-old girl Kumanjayi Little Baby near Alice Springs, with the minister also announcing a review into the conduct of the Department of Children and Families in the lead up to her death.
Community organisations furious over changes
When asked about fears the new legislation could lead to another Stolen Generation, Minister Cahill told reporters in Darwin that she would not “abandon” a generation of children.
“I will not be a minister who abandons another generation of Territory kids,” she said.
“The reality is that we have kids in really difficult situations and for a long time people have been paralysed by the fear they will be accused of doing that – this is absolutely not the case, this is absolutely looking at children deserve to be safe.”
“We get that the absolute priority should be to keep a child with their family, but we also understand that if that is not a safe environment then we must get the child out of there, make sure they’re safe, and then go and deal with whatever the situation is that’s made the family situation unsafe for them.”
She also denied the changes would remove the child placement principle.
“Every single child deserves to have exactly the same opportunity, every child’s culture, every child’s background, religion, needs to be taken into account … the absolute first priority however is to make sure they don’t need to be placed in care.”
“In addition to that universal principle there are principles that will relate specifically to Aboriginal children, recognising … that there is a very special kinship and cultural relationship to Country that needs to be included in the consideration.”
But APONT expressed outrage at the move.
“We strongly reject the NT Government’s deliberate portrayal of Aboriginal families, communities, and culture as a risk to children’s safety,” APONT chair Theresa Roe said.
“This narrative is dangerous, ignorant, and wrong. It erases the love, strength, and protection that Aboriginal families, communities, country and culture provide every day.”
Inquiry into NT Department
Minister Cahill also announced former NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb and senior NT public servant Greg Shanahan would lead a review into the conduct of the Department of Children and Families in the lead up to the death of Kumanjayi Little Baby in Alice Springs.
The five-year-old girl went missing on April 25th from the Old Timers Town Camp outside Alice Springs, and her body was found five days later after the largest search in the NT in decades.
47-year-old man Jefferson Lewis has been charged with her murder
But Minister Cahill announced three child protection workers had been stood down by the Department last Wednesday, after concerns had been raised with her about the girl’s circumstances in the weeks leading up to her disappearance.
NITV understands two of those workers were reinstated the next day.
The review is expected to take three months.
“We don’t want it to drag on forever … this needs to be short and sharp,” Minister Cahill said.
“Because the processes that occurred in the Kumanjayi Little Baby case are the Department wide processes they’re going to use that as the baseline … and those recommendations will be able to be rippled through the entire department.”
In federal parliament on Tuesday, NT Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price gave an emotional condolence speech in honour of Kumanjayi Little Baby.
“As more details have emerged around my niece’s death Australians have learned that multiple warnings were reported, made in regards to her safety, and these warnings were not acted upon adequately,” she told the Senate.
“Let me say clearly that this is not an isolated case, for years I have raised concerns about the failures within child protection.”