The Northern Territory Government has proposed new child protection requirements for First Nations children.
It comes weeks after the alleged murder of five-year-old Kumanjayi Little Baby in Alice Springs.
Under a new bill, the Government would raise the standards families must meet during child protection assessments, and grant children access to independent representatives to support them.
First Nations advocacy groups have warned the proposal risks making it easier for the Government to remove Indigenous children from their homes.
The bill
The new bill would require child protection authorities to prioritise the “best interests of every child first regardless of background”.
The current law requires authorities to move First Nations children to live with another member of their family if their parents aren’t deemed able to take care of them.
Under the new bill, authorities would only need to move a child “in close proximity” to their family and community, where it’s practical to do so.
The bill would also introduce higher standards that families must meet during assessments by child protection services when determining whether a child should be removed.
It would also bring in new measures to ensure children have access to independent legal representation.
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The Department of Children and Families would be required to take a greater role in supporting family reunification, with tighter timeframes placed on the process.
Opposition
The National Commission for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children has accused the NT Government of using “the devastating death of an Aboriginal child… to justify sweeping legislative changes.”
Commissioner Sue-Anne Hunter said the bill would be “devastating for the future of our children.”
“If passed, it will result in more children being removed, more children subject to harm, and more children unsafe from the systems put in place to protect them,” she said.
Peak advocacy groups have also joined calls for the Government to scrap the bill.
Earlier this week, SNAICC – National Voice for our Children said any effort to overhaul the system “without Aboriginal leadership, expertise and lived experience risks repeating the failures of the past.”
CEO Catherine Liddle said :”This work is too important to be reactive… Connection to kin, community and culture is one of the strongest protective factors for our children”.
The Country Liberal Government holds a majority in the Territory’s one house of Parliament, meaning it will pass.
