Mission & Justice

Patricia Karvelas; 19/6/08

The Rudd Government yesterday moved to reinforce its commitment to the Northern Territory indigenous intervention, handing down a 12-month report card that argues it has accelerated the rollout of key measures. Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin told The Australian the Government was determined to strengthen rather than weaken the intervention in Aboriginal communities, releasing new figures to prove Labor’s commitment. Labor promised to review the intervention, launched in June last year by John Howard in aneffort to stamp out sexual abuse and violence against children, and improve living standards in communities, if it won government. Yesterday’s report card shows that while only 4630 children in 58 per cent of all communities had been visited and given free health checks at the time the government changed hands in November, that figure reached 11,000 this month.

(more…)

Sarah Smiles & Tara Ravens; 16/4/08

Allegations that Aboriginal children were used as “guinea pigs” in medical experiments conducted last century will be investigated by the Federal Government. The claims were raised in a Senate inquiry into a Stolen Generation Compensation Bill in Darwin yesterday. Kathleen Mills from the Stolen Generations Alliance said the Australian public did not know the full extent of what happened to some children who were taken from their parents and institutionalised under removal policies.

(more…)