Child protection system 'needs to change' after review finds failings

Northern Territory Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has called for a change in the "culture of child protection" in Australia, following the release of a review into the NT's child welfare system.

The review, which was tabled in NT parliament, found extensive failings by the Department of Children and Families before five-year-old Kumanjayi Little Baby went missing from an Alice Springs town camp in April.

Failings in the child protection system

Senator Nampijinpa Price said her niece, Kumanjayi, had been "let down" by the system, and that the report exposed the "stark reality of the utter failings of a system that is supposed to protect our most vulnerable, our children."

"My niece was let down and I know so many other children who have been let down over the years and it's finally been revealed as to why this is the case and it's just not good enough," she said.

The report, led by former NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb and longtime NT public servant Greg Shanahan, made 45 recommendations to improve the child protection system.

Criticism of the child protection response

Senator Nampijinpa Price also criticised the child protection response of some organisations, which she said had an "ideological approach" to Indigenous affairs "based on this idea that culture is the be all and end all over and above prioritising the safety of vulnerable women and children".

"They would probably have argued that my niece should not be removed and in the end we lost her," she said.

"I think the system treats Aboriginal women and vulnerable children, [it] doesn't treat them like Australian citizens, that's for sure, where their human rights and their safety need to be upheld."

Call for a coordinated national approach

Senator Nampijinpa Price has called for a coordinated national approach to child protection, saying that every state and territory should go through a similar process to ensure that child protection is working effectively.

"I think what the Northern Territory has just been through … every state and territory should go through the same process to ensure that child protection is working right around the country, not just for the benefit of Indigenous children, but for the benefit of all children," she said.

"The culture of child protection needs to change."

Government response

NT Minister for Child Protection Robyn Cahill attributed the lack of progress in child safety to previous governments, saying they "put so-called progressive beliefs ahead of child safety".

"A child's culture matters but it can never come before safety," she said.

Ms Cahill labelled the child protection system as being "in crisis" across the country, and said the government accepted all 45 recommendations of the report in full.

Indigenous community concerns

Cindy Torrens, speaking on behalf of the North Australian Aboriginal Family Legal Service, criticised the Country Liberal Party for not involving Indigenous people when it commissioned the report.

"If there is any changes to be made in Northern Territory legislation, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people [and] Aboriginal community controlled organisations must be at that table," she said.

"We cannot continue to be excluded from any decisions and anything that's impacting our people."