The peak national body representing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families has rebuked Opposition Leader Peter Dutton for his comments on sexual abuse in Alice Springs.
On the second of two days spent in the town, Mr Dutton and Country Liberal Party senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price made claims of 'rampant' instances of sexual violence in the community.
CEO of The Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care (SNAICC), Catherine Liddle, said there was no evidence to support Mr Dutton’s Claims.
"Sexual abuse is a really serious crime, which has a devastating impact on children, families and communities — this is not a political football," she said in a statement.
“The claims of ‘rampant’ abuse fly in the face of evidence. Data from Territory Families show there has been no escalation in investigations of sexual abuse or exploitation."
Assistant Minister for Indigenous Australians Malarndirri McCarthy has called for Mr Dutton to report any abuse to the Police.
“I would ask opposition leader Peter Dutton, if you are aware of this, then you need to mandatorily report it to police so that there can be an investigation immediately, and if you have not done that, I would urge you to do so as soon as possible,” she said.
In the Northern Territory (NT), it is a legal responsibility under the Care and Protection of Children Act 2007 to report any concerns if you believe a child is being, or has been, harmed or abused. This is called mandatory reporting.
The Northern Territory Police Minister Kate Worden also slammed the Opposition Leader's claims.
What we’ve seen over the last couple of days from Peter Dutton in central Australia is absolutely opportunistic, political game-playing, and using the most vulnerable people here in the heart of our nation as a pawn in that game. It’s quite frankly, a dog act.
Coalition defends claims
Speaking in Alice Springs on the matter, Mr Dutton used drastic terms to describe the alleged situation.
“You’ve got kids here tonight who are going to be sexually abused or families where domestic violence has now become a current occurrence and were told that nothing can be done about it,” he said.
Liberal Party senator Kerrynne Liddle defended Mr Dutton’s claims speaking to ABC radio.
"I say prove it's not happening and then we can have a conversation about the kind of language we can actually use for this.
"You've got the statistics, which everyone accepts are under-reported and under-represented," Senator Liddle said.
SNAICC says it invited the Opposition Leader and Senator Price to meet with them and community members "for a considered, evidence-based discussion of the issue of child sexual abuse and the over-representation of Aboriginal children in the child protection system."
The organisation said that, despite an invitation last year, neither Mr Dutton nor Ms Price have approached SNAICC for more information or to hear about community-led solutions.
