Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has unleashed on Labor figures who claimed Peter Dutton was using Alice Springs as a “pawn” as she accused the Albanese government of being “weak” on crime and reports of sexual abuse.
Country Liberal Party Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has attacked the Albanese and Northern Territory governments for attempting to “downplay” the issue of sexual abuse in indigenous communities.
Senator Price and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton toured parts of Alice Springs last week where they shone a light on “rampant” rates of sexual assault of indigenous children and again repeated calls for a Royal Commission.
Their push was immediately shot down by the Labor Territory government with Police Minister Kate Worden accusing Mr Dutton of “opportunistic, political game-playing”.
She said Mr Dutton was “using the most vulnerable people here in the heart of our nation as a pawn in that game”.
But Senator Price defended the Liberal leader and said Labor’s response was “weak”.
“It’s trying to coverup the fact that the Prime Minister has showed very little interest in what’s going on in the Northern Territory, in Alice Springs,” Senator Price told Sky News Australia’s Outsiders on Sunday.
“The government has ignored these pleas both federally and locally with the territory government and the first thing they try to do is attempt to downplay the issue of sexual abuse of indigenous children.”
SNAICC, the peak body representing indigenous children, came out against the Coalition’s calls for a Royal Commission.
The organisation argues Mr Dutton’s claims of “rampant” abuse “fly in the face of evidence”.
“Sexual abuse is a really serious crime, which has a devastating impact on children, families and communities — this is not a political football,” SNAICC CEO Catherine Liddle said in a statement.
Senator Price said peak organisations such as SNAICC as well as the ABC were ignoring “community issues” and instead focussed purely on the Voice to Parliament.
“This is not black and white and I’m sick to death of it, I’m sick to death of the separatism and the seeking… (to) constitutionalise that separatism with this referendum,” she said.
“It’s okay to talk about the high rates of incarceration and how indigenous people are disproportionately affected but they don’t want to talk about the disproportionately affected children because of child abuse and child sexual abuse and all those rates.”
“That absolutely breaks my heart and to think there are adults that are prepared to downplay this, SNAICC, the peak organisation that are responsible for advocating on behalf of aboriginal children, are downplaying this issue.
“I’m just really upset at the way in which especially the ABC have turned this into a Peter Dutton bashing exercise instead of actually understanding that locals have been calling out, screaming out desperate for change on the ground throughout the Northern Territory.”
Children subject to a child protection notification or investigation (Per 1,000)
During the year 2020-2021 there were 95.5 children subject to a child protection notification or investigation per 1,000 people in the Northern Territory, a 300% higher rate than the next state or territory (NSW) and 346% higher compared to the national average.
- Northern Territory 95.5
- New South Wales 23.5
- Australian Average 21.4
- Victoria 21.1
- Queensland 19.8
- Western Australia 19.2
- Australian Capital Territory 18
- South Australia 13.4
- Tasmania 6.7
Source: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2020-21
Marion Scrymgour, Labor MP for Lingiari, hit back at the NT Police Minister for labelling Mr Dutton’s comments a “dog act”.
Ms Scrymgour said the NT government needed to “do their work” adding that it was clear there were people “not taking responsibility for dealing with these young people on the street”.
It comes as the latest data shows reports child abuse in the Northern Territory have reached levels five times higher than any other jurisdiction in Australia.
The latest available data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare shows 95.5 children per 1000 in the NT were the subject of an investigation or notification to child protection services in 2020/2021.