Attributable to the National Commissioner for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People - Sue-Anne Hunter
**Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that this statement contains names of deceased persons
Before anything else, I want to acknowledge Kumanjayi Little Baby's family and community. They are carrying a devastating loss, and the release of this Report has made them relive it. My thoughts are with them.
The Report of the Independent Review into the Conduct of the Department of Children and Families sets out serious failures. Violence was reported and files were closed without action. The Department was under-resourced and short of staff, and it did not manage risk. The Report's 45 recommendations show how much needs to change.
But I am deeply concerned about how this Report treats a mother.
A woman who experienced violence, and who spoke up about it, has had the most personal parts of her life set out in a public document. No woman should have to read her own history of violence in a government report, and no woman who seeks help should fear that this is the price of asking.
The Report also places the weight of these failures on her. The question that needed answering was what the Department did with what it knew. Responsibility for violence sits with the people who use it. Responsibility for the response sits with the Department. It should never sit with a victim.
The Report does not adequately consider this family's culture, identity or kin, and it does not draw on the knowledge of the Aboriginal organisations who worked with them. Across 62 pages, the word "Aboriginal" appears only six times. In the terminology, it states it will use “First Nations”; that’s the only time it is used in the Report.
There will be no meaningful change unless Aboriginal communities and Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations share in the decisions and lead the solutions.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families must have timely, culturally safe family support, specialist domestic and family violence services, safe housing and support to recover from violence. I call on the Northern Territory Government to explain how it will resource and deliver these recommendations, and how it will fund them for the long term.
I also call on the Northern Territory Government to explain how it will protect the privacy and dignity of women and families who come into contact with the Department, including in any future review.
I will be watching closely to see whether these recommendations make children safer, and whether the burden is once again placed on First Nations families.
Every child deserves a safe future. This is everyone's responsibility.