Children overboard
Published 1 year, 5 months ago in My life.Oh look, there are children overboard, and it’s an election year.
Only this time they’re really there, drowning in abuse in the nation’s north.
They’ve been tossed overboard by successive governments and a general population that frankly couldn’t give a toss.
Howard’s right – something must be done but it should have been done many years ago, probably by a Labor government.
The timing of Howard’s big move stinks of election Tampa-ing.
Howard may be genuine in his desire to help the little children but there is no doubt that this was a political opportunity too good to miss; a shock move on the board of wedge politics very similar to the one that screwed Beazley to the wall in 2001.
The recent report that has prompted outrage and the most dramatic federal intervention in territory or indigenous affairs for 40 years was not the first word on systemic abuse in the territory or indeed indigenous communities throughout Australia.
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) has been collecting information on the prevalence of child abuse and neglect in Aboriginal communities since at least 1990. In 2002-2003 (for example) child abuse or neglect was confirmed by statutory child protection services for 4,334 Indigenous children aged 0-16 years across the nation. These are cases of child abuse that were reported to authorities and followed up. Needless to say they were the tip of the iceberg.
In May 2006 federal aboriginal affairs minister Mal Brough told Late Line’s Tony Jones that “Everybody knows who runs the paedophile rings’’ in indigenous communities in the Northern Territory. To Brough’s credit he’s been pushing hard for something to be done but it’s taken until now – when Howard was seemingly out of magic rabbits – to do anything.
It’s all about the timing. The Howard government’s intervention in the NT is a grand gesture but it is thin on detail and, dare I say, thin on thought.
It will take years of COMMITMENT, POLITICAL WILL and WISDOM to make a genuine difference to the lives of today’s indigenous children. Does Howard have any of those things in relation to this issue? Hard to judge before this year’s election.
12 Responses to “Children overboard”
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Problem is (and i agree timing stinks of electioneering) we are dammed if we do, and dammed if we dont. In other words, aboroginal leadership wants independence, and autonomy, and governments are keen to be seen to be doing the right thing.
But what happens when aboriginal leadership just doesn’t work. Accusations of stolen generation for removing children at risk. Interference when tribal laws say an aboriginal offender should be speared etc.
No, its a loose loose situation.
cheerio
shadowmaster.
Another case of too little too late. Having met many beautiful children - full of life and happiness in northern WA it is confronting and saddening to know that they are more than likely to end up in exactly the same situation as their family has been struggling with for generations.
We need to take responsibility and we need to take action. This is one case where the apathy of every day Australians just doesn’t strike a chord with me.
yes its probably an election stunt but if half of what they say is true then something must be done. even if as the shad says they will damn us for doing it. if something is wrong then you should do something to put it right. i dont care who it upsets we must stop these children being abused.
another example of how the “handout and turn your back” solution can never work, throw money at it and hope it goes away, good on you Johnny but its only the start, and yes the same principle applies across the welfare board.
Election profiteering of others misfortune and neglect is contemptible, but better that than letting this abominable situation continue. I only hope that it’s a long term plan and they’re not afraid to be ruthless, whoever gets into power.
I suspect it will be a long term fix program. Once a humanitarian project starts, it can not stop just because of an election campaign ending.
We could say Howard this stinks of electioneering, or alternatively, we could say, goodoo (not the dog biscuits) because of an election, some good things are happening.
Dont bite the hand that feeds you…
cheerio
shadowmaster
Hi all! i’m new here
Let me in!
Hi Maria,
welcome ashore.
Not the response those aboard Tampa received but even they got in eventualy.
Hi Maria, welcome to nook.
Yeah fossil, this does seem opportunistic, and as others have said, lets hope the action doesn’t stop after the election. It is rather strange how some white aborigines are calling this effort racist, it seems to me that some of the more educated in the aboriginal community are quite possibly the offenders here and trying to shift the blame or hide it in rhetoric!
Hi, welcome Maria, tell us your thoughts,
as for aboriginal leadership:- me thinks he doth protest too much.
Ahoy there Maria and a big lick from theshadow
cheerio
theshadow
and the shadowmaster
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