AUSTRALIA 
Macklin pledges action on SA child sex abuse
Wednesday, 7 May, 2008
Federal Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin has pledged funds for policing and social initiatives in SA communities. (AAP)
The federal government has pledged to work with South Australia to combat indigenous child sexual abuse after a shocking new report about communities in the state's north.
The report, by former Supreme Court judge Ted Mullighan, found at least one in 10 children in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands had been sexually abused.
Children aged under 10 have been abused, many repeatedly over years, it found.
Federal Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin said her government would put an additional $19 million into a range of initiatives, including the construction of a new police station and housing for police and child protection officers.
Ms Macklin said the report was harrowing.
"It contains shocking stories and a shocking picture of life, especially for children, in these lands in South Australia," she told reporters.
"It's yet another indication of just how serious the levels of child abuse are in many parts of Australia and in this occasion it's in a very remote part of South Australia."
Ms Macklin said the federal government would form a joint task force with the South Australian government to ensure the report's 46 recommendations were addressed.
She said the government would discuss with the South Australian government the possibility of quarantining welfare payments in the APY Lands, modelled on similar schemes in the Northern Territory, Western Australia's Kimberley region and Cape York in Queensland.
A similar report on sexual abuse in the NT last year - Little Children Are Sacred - prompted the Howard government's dramatic intervention into indigenous communities in the territory.
Source: AAP
The report, by former Supreme Court judge Ted Mullighan, found at least one in 10 children in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands had been sexually abused.
Children aged under 10 have been abused, many repeatedly over years, it found.
Federal Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin said her government would put an additional $19 million into a range of initiatives, including the construction of a new police station and housing for police and child protection officers.
Ms Macklin said the report was harrowing.
"It contains shocking stories and a shocking picture of life, especially for children, in these lands in South Australia," she told reporters.
"It's yet another indication of just how serious the levels of child abuse are in many parts of Australia and in this occasion it's in a very remote part of South Australia."
Ms Macklin said the federal government would form a joint task force with the South Australian government to ensure the report's 46 recommendations were addressed.
She said the government would discuss with the South Australian government the possibility of quarantining welfare payments in the APY Lands, modelled on similar schemes in the Northern Territory, Western Australia's Kimberley region and Cape York in Queensland.
A similar report on sexual abuse in the NT last year - Little Children Are Sacred - prompted the Howard government's dramatic intervention into indigenous communities in the territory.
Source: AAP
