Ideas@TheCentre
A dangerous coupling
The NT government's recent report on child protection, 'Growing them Strong, Together,' conjures up an uncanny sense of déjà vu. Like its predecessor, the 'Little Children are Sacred Report,' the new report highlights the disturbing correlation between alcohol and child abuse. Similarly, it is a weighty tome. At some 700 pages, it is not for the faint-hearted, although the authors have considerately produced a 90-page summary of the report.
The authors have obviously gone to a lot of trouble to document and highlight all the factors relating to child abuse and protection in the Northern Territory. With some 147 recommendations, they are clearly advocating for a lot of change.
The real question is whether another government paper is really going to do this. The authors of the 'Little Children are Sacred' report were acutely aware that some of their readers might ask 'what's the use of another government report?' They were hopeful that their report would not befall the fate of so many other government documents, and that their recommendations would be acted on without delay. Little did they know then that it would result in immediate action in the form of the Northern Territory Intervention.
The report 'Growing them Strong, Together' points out that one of the key contributors to child neglect and abuse is alcohol.
This is not a new insight. In 'Little Children are Sacred,' the authors concluded that unless alcoholism is conquered, there is little point in attending to any of the other worthwhile proposals in their report.
Although the authors of 'Growing them Stronger, Together' note the impact of alcohol on Indigenous children and families and the need for treatment programs, they do not make any recommendations concerning the supply of alcohol. Yet, cases of child abuse would be cut in half if fewer communities were in the grip of alcoholism.
'Growing them Stronger' reports that alcohol continues to be a problem in the 73 communities prescribed under the Intervention despite signage suggesting that the problem should no longer exist. Just as there is no point having child protection laws if nobody enforces them, there is no point having alcohol restrictions if they are not enforced by liquor licensing authorities and police.
Following the release of the 'Growing them Stronger' report, the federal and NT governments immediately announced a further $160 million in funding for child protection. But unless urgent action is taken to overcome the alcohol epidemic in Aboriginal communities, any measures to improve the child protection system in the Northern Territory will only be a temporary stop gap – a finger in the dyke of dysfunction that plagues so many communities.
Sara Hudson is a Policy Analyst at the Centre.
