snaicc news Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care www.snaicc.asn.au MAY 2012 Celebrating 25 years of National Aboriginal and Islander Children’s Day See pages 22 and 24 NT peak body begins journey down new path The new peak body for Aboriginal and NT; play a role in finding solutions This family Torres Strait Islander children, youth to the tragically high suicide rate of history has and families in the NT is ready to take Aboriginal children, particularly girls, fuelled Josie’s on the enormous challenges ahead. in remote communities; and work to pursuit of equality ensure that Aboriginal children placed and social justice The peak body, Stronger Aboriginal in out-of-home care maintain a link to for Aboriginal Families Together — or SAF,T their family, community and culture. people at the (pronounced safety) — has become local, national and international fully incorporated, moved into its own Darwin-born Josie Crawshaw (pictured) levels including serving as ATSIC premises in Darwin and is transitioning is a Gurindji woman and a member Commissioner for the Top End, as chair from its auspiced arrangement with of a large extended local family with and founding member of the Top End Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance NT. sporting, business and political links. Aboriginal Coalition, and working on Josie’s mother, the late Nawala (Daisy) SAF,T’s inaugural CEO Josie Crawshaw the development of the UN’s Declaration Ruddick, was taken from her family at said the peak body’s management board on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Limbunyah Station, 750kms south-west had identified a number of priorities. of Darwin, to the Kahlin Compound Read Josie’s report on SAF,T: Some of these will be to re-establish along with hundreds of other children Pages 14 and 15 Aboriginal child care agencies in the now known as the Stolen Generations. The national peak body for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families responsible for designing, developing establishment of the new Child and and delivering services to their own Family centres across Australia, and peoples, while being open to anyone some practical measures SNAICC would in the wider community; partnerships like to see introduced to improve with non-Indigenous NGO where the advocacy of children and family issues latter offer support and expertise as and the delivery of services. requested and the movement of services Over the next three months, a major from the ‘mainstream’ to Aboriginal focus for SNAICC will be finalising our and Torres Strait Islander community funding for the next funding period (we operational management; the proper f r a n k l y expect for three years), and producing implementation of the Aboriginal Child resources for National Aboriginal and Placement Principle; and continuing to s p e a k i n g Islander Children’s Day, which this inform, educate and demand that the year will celebrate its 25th anniversary. rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Hello everyone and welcome to the Preliminary work has also begun on Islander children, families and peoples second edition of SNAICC News for the 2013 SNAICC National Conference, are upheld. 2012. one of the highlights of a year in which SNAICC has hit the ground running These are not issues of ‘welfare’ policy SNAICC will celebrate its 30th year of this year, and has been extremely busy or ‘Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander operation. issues’ — they are the most fundamental across all the broad areas of its work, The most exciting work over the next concerns of belonging to a civil society producing resources, developing policy month or so, however, will be SNAICC’s for all citizens. papers and delivering training. appearance at the United Nations While working across each of these SNAICC National Executive member Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues areas we have started planning the Reuben Ardler and I discussed some of in New York and before the Committee directions, workloads and budgets for these concerns in a series of meetings on the Rights of the Child in Geneva. with Australian Government ministers the next two to five years, guided by a We have been to training with the and advisers, Opposition shadow number of active sub-committees and Indigenous Persons Organisation ministers and Greens senators on a by the National Executive. who lead the Australian contingent recent trip to Canberra. Clearly, the ‘big’ issues remain: and expect to work specifically at Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander We raised the impact of Government representing SNAICC’s views in regard communities being resourced and made policy on the ground, including the to developments in Australia, as well as working hard to build the international network needed to more effectively In this issue... lobby governments around the world Stronger Futures legislation widely opposed Pages 3 and 5 to do more to recognise and uphold the rights of Indigenous children. NSW Ombudsman calls for new ways to tackle disadvantage 4 Major funding boost for NT communities 5 I look forward to reporting on develop- ments in the next issue of SNAICC News. Draft human rights plan in need of major overhaul 6 Meanwhile, I wish you all the best. Government to establish National Children’s Commissioner 7 SNAICC hosts child protection meeting 8Frank Hytten, SNAICC CEO [email protected] Australia’s record on children’s rights under review at UN 8 Victoria’s vulnerable children let down by system 9 36.7% and rising — the rate of our children in Queensland’s child protection system 10 I need you to make SNAICC a stronger peak body for us New peak body for Indigenous Australians with disability 11 children by becoming a member. Call Sandy Barber on (03) 9489 8099 today! Opening the doors on partnerships 12–13 SAF,T: NT peak body begins journey on new path 14–15 Profile of Lulla’s Children and Family Centre 16–17 SA Aboriginal Children’s Services meet in Port Lincoln 18–19 A place for families to heal in Adelaide 20 A glimpse of life at Eagle Butte, South Dakota 21 Warning: Aboriginal and Celebrating 25 years of National Aboriginal and Islander Torres Strait Islander Children’s Day (NAICD) people should be aware 22 that this publication may “Through Young Black Eyes” train-the-trainer workshops 23 contain images of people who may have since passed Deadly NAICD 2012 poster hits the streets... 24 away. 2 snaicc news May 2012 SNAICC one of many voices against Stronger Futures legislation SNAICC has joined a wide section of the community in expressing serious doubts about the Stronger Futures package of bills for Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory that, if passed, will extend the Australian Government’s intervention for 10 years. In a submission to the Senate Commu- nity Affairs Legislation Committee, SNAICC recommended that the legislation be completely redeveloped in accordance with international human courtesy of Concerned Australians Photo rights laws to which Australia is bound. Against an extension of the intervention: Dhanggal Gurruwiwi from Yirrkala, George Gaymarani Pascoe (Milingimbi), Rosalie Kunoth-Monks OAM (Utopia), Betty Pike, a Nyoonga woman from SW SNAICC argued the proposed bills do not Australia, Miriam Rose Ungunmerr-Baumann AM (Nauiyu), Djapirri Mununggirritj (Yirrkala), Rev Dr. provide a coordinated response to the Djiniyini Gondarra OAM (Galiwin’ku) and Harry Jakamarra Nelson (Yuendumu). factors that were cited as the rationale The package of bills and the for the 2007 Northern Territory “SNAICC is adamant that consultation process have attracted a lot Emergency Response (NTER). These were solutions imposed on of media coverage and strong opposition serious and complex issues around child communities that continue to from various sections of the community. protection, and underlying problems undermine their autonomy and of alcoholism, violence, poverty and strengths, and are in breach Elders and representatives from a generational trauma. of their fundamental human number of NT communities — including rights, will not succeed.” Rosalie Kunoth-Monks, Miriam Rose SNAICC contended that, as with the Ungunmerr-Baumann and ­­Rev Dr. initial and amended response of the Djiniyini Gondarra — have repeatedly NTER, the proposed Stronger Futures This would ensure compliance with international legal obligations, and that expressed their anger and strong package is a far cry from the holistic, opposition to the legislation. integrated measures recommended the proposed response tackles the in the 2007 Children are Sacred report core issues around child protection, At a media conference in Melbourne on which instigated the Australian rather than the symptoms, and supports 4 November 2011, they released a state- Government’s intervention. empowering strategies that build on ment which said in part: “We will not community strengths. support extension of the intervention While SNAICC believes the Government Some of the key human rights principles legislation. We did not ask for it. In has tried to respond to a number of fact we call for a genuine apology from core concerns with the NTER, the that SNAICC considered are not fully reflected in the Stronger Futures bills the Federal Government for the hurt, fundamental flaws remain largely embarrassment, shame and stigma, unchanged in the proposed legislation. are the right to self-determination and the right for communities to give their and for the illegal removal of the Racial “SNAICC is adamant that solutions free, prior and informed consent to Discrimination Act.” imposed on communities that continue measures that may affect them. Addressing the Senate committee in to undermine their autonomy and SNAICC argued the proposed approach March, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait strengths, and are in breach of their Islander Social Justice Commissioner fundamental human rights, will imposes responsibility without ensuring the presence of basic resources, such as Mick Gooda said the cultural not succeed,” SNAICC wrote in its competency of governments and the submission.