The authors of the Northern Territory child safety review are “very confident” change will come within six months, but the national peak body for Aboriginal children and families says the review falls short.
The new report examined the NT Department of Children and Families’ conduct surrounding Alice Springs five-year-old Kumanjayi Little Baby before her alleged murder in April. It made 45 recommendations and called for a “system-wide reset" of child protection in the NT (ABC).
Former NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb, who co-authored the report, said checks carried out on people caring for children on safety plans was one of the priorities identified in the report (ABC).
“There needs to be an audit of the current safety plans in place in the Northern Territory right now to make sure that those checks are done,” she said (ABC).
However, the National Voice for Our Children (SNAICC) has accused the NT government in a statement of “demonising” Aboriginal people and failing to listen to First Nations voices (NITV).
“The review did not cite the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle as a factor in the tragic death of Kumanjayi Little Baby, yet the weakening of the principle is the only substantive response we have seen from the minister and the NT government,” said SNAICC chair Muriel Bamblett (NITV).
Read more: Marcia Langton interviews the grandfather of Kumanjayi Little Baby (TSP)