Abuse reports up during NT intervention

2 Nov 2009, 6:19 pm   -   Source: AAP
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More cases of child abuse and substance abuse are being reported in remote NT communities because of a stronger police presence, the federal government says.

More cases of child abuse and substance abuse are being reported in remote Northern Territory communities because of a stronger police presence, the federal government says.

A six-month progress report on the federal intervention into remote indigenous communities, posted on the internet, shows only a handful of the measures included in the Northern Territory Emergency Response (NTER) have so far produced positive outcomes.

Despite the introduction of several measures to combat child abuse, the report - Closing the Gap in the Northern Territory - shows confirmed instances of child abuse rose from 66 cases in 2006/07 to 227 in the last financial year.

According to the report, the mobile child protection team investigated 236 cases of abuse across 40 indigenous communities in the first six months of 2009, resulting in 28 children being taken into care.

Convictions for the sexual assault of a child rose from 15 prior to the NTER, to 22 since the intervention began under the Howard government in 2007.

The intervention was continued by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, amid criticism it did not meet Racial Discrimination Act standards, which were suspended to enable the NTER.

Federal Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin, who says entrenched disadvantage in the Territory will take some time to turn around, has vowed to reinstate the Racial Discrimination Act when parliament sits in November.

"There is a lot more to do and we are determined to continue to deliver the structures and support that are essential for indigenous Australians to live safe, healthy and productive lives," a spokeswoman for Ms Macklin said.

The diets of Aboriginal Territorians from 73 communities have reportedly improved significantly under forced income management measures.

The report showed shopping habits had changed after the "initial mistrust and confusion about income management abated".

More than 68 per cent of all store operators reported an increase in the amount of healthy food, such as fruit and vegetables, being purchased.

However, the sale of some goods such as cigarettes remained unchanged.

While the report found substance abuse-related incidents had increased by 77 per cent since the intervention began, figures such as these are understood to have increased due to the criminalisation of alcohol possession.

Ms Macklin's spokeswoman attributes the increase in substance abuse to higher police numbers.

"(It) has resulted in more reporting in a number of offences including violence, alcohol and child abuse," she said in a statement.

The spokeswoman said Ms Macklin's office was focused on increasing housing in remote areas, where 73 per cent of children under the age of one are at risk of sudden infant death syndrome due to bed overcrowding.

Improving school attendance rates would also be targeted.

From 2007 to 2009 the number of primary and secondary school students enrolled in remote NT communities increased by 610 but the average attendance rate of 63 per cent remained much the same, the report said.

"We recognise that increasing school attendance is essential to closing the gap," the spokeswoman said.

"And there are ... more health services to reduce chronic disease and treat eye and ear complaints in children."

The number of preventable diseases in children under the age of five, such as malnutrition, ear infection and skin bacteria, dropped significantly in the first year of the intervention, although it's believed the number of reported cases will not drop again this year.

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