Thread: Australia, child abuse and how many ways can you use an army?

Troops begin war against abuse
Article from: Herald-Sun

Michael Madigan, Sam Strutt and Glenn Morrison

June 28, 2007 12:00am

TROOPS moved into Northern Territory Aboriginal communities yesterday as Prime Minister John Howard hinted at an open-ended campaign to combat indigenous child sexual abuse.
Mr Howard said his six-month ban on alcohol could easily be extended if he didn't see improvement.

"We named six months because we believed that would be adequate time for the NT to develop its alternatives in relation to alcohol," he said.

"But if those alternatives are not satisfactorily developed within six months, that period . . . will be extended."

Teams helped by Norforce troops arrived in several Central Australian settlements, including Mutitjulu at Uluru, yesterday as part of plans to secure up to 60 settlements.

Norforce, the North West Mobile Force, is a largely Aboriginal regiment.

At least two armed Australian Federal Police officers are expected soon in Mutitjulu.

Federal Labor leader Kevin Rudd yesterday announced a Labor government would recruit more indigenous officers into the federal police.

Mr Rudd, strongly backing Mr Howard's plan to ban alcohol and pornography and cull welfare payments from poor parents, said only three indigenous officers had been recruited by the AFP in three years.

"If we're going to deal effectively on the ground with this problem of child abuse . . . we need a rapid increase in recruitment of Aboriginal police liaison officers and Aboriginal police officers," he said.

Mr Howard said it was up to the NT Government to get involved if the problems were to be eased within six months.

Federal Indigenous Affairs Minister Mal Brough reported no problems among locals as the survey teams began arriving early yesterday.

But there was confusion in Alice Springs town camps.

Reservists at Norforce base in Alice Springs loaded more than a dozen trucks with supplies and equipment and left the town during the day.

But the army would not disclose its destination.

People such as Conrad Wiseman, chairman of the Ilparpa Town camp in Alice Springs, seem to have been left in the dark about the operation.

Mr Wiseman is also a works supervisor with the Tangentyere Council, the body charged with the upkeep of the town's 21 camps, housing between 2000 and 3000 residents.

It is unclear whether the town camps will fall within the sweep of Mr Howard's teams.

Mr Wiseman was at his camp, with less than 20 dwellings, just south of the Alice yesterday.

"We haven't heard anything about (the plan). That's for the bush communities," he said.

Mr Wiseman was also unaware of plans to quarantine half of all Centrelink payments to guarantee they were used for essential supplies such as food.

Mr Howard also said mischievous rumours had been spread about the program.

It had been reported women and children from communities were hiding in the Outback to stop the children being taken.

"There's no reason for anybody to be concerned," Mr Howard said. "The whole object of the exercise is to help people, protect people, secure people, reassure people."

NT Police Commissioner Paul White intended putting two AFP officers into Mutitjulu to support local police.

They would be accompanied by a NT police officer.



AFP Cdr David Bachi was yesterday sworn in as a special constable of the NT police.



Ten more AFP officers, many having worked in the Solomons, East Timor and Sudan, arrive in Darwin today.

Meanwhile, Mr Brough said the Federal Government rejected the NT Government's plea for help in indigenous issues last year because its plan was too long-term.

"A 20-year plan is not going to cut the mustard for the children that are going to get hurt tonight," he said yesterday.



Chief Minister Clare Martin wrote to Mr Howard on June 14 last year suggesting many of the initiatives since announced by the Government.



Mr Howard blamed NT Government inaction when he announced the initiative.

Ms Martin said her Government was also preparing to battle a problem that might spring from Mr Howard's program – that the alcohol ban would drive many drinkers into urban areas.

Ms Martin said if this happened, Darwin and Katherine could end up with the same problems as Alice Springs, which was battling violence and crime fuelled by alcohol.

Due to meet Mr Howard and Mr Brough tomorrow, she said she would look at stronger alcohol bans across the NT.

Public drinking was banned in Alice Springs last month.

"The issues we see in Alice Springs, I don't want replicated and growing across the Territory," Ms Martin said.

She said she would tell Mr Howard local solutions were needed for the problems.

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