Jacinta Price accuses Anthony Albanese of ‘showing very little interest’ in the Northern Territory as she defends Peter Dutton’s call for a Royal Commission on sexual abuse in the area
- Jacinta Price lashed out at the Prime Minister
- She said he had “little interest” in NT
Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has accused the prime minister of sidelining issues in the Northern Territory while supporting the opposition leader’s calls for a royal commission on child sexual abuse.
Senator Price and opposition leader Peter Dutton toured parts of Alice Springs last week, suggesting there was an “rampant” number of cases of sexual assault against Indigenous children and repeated calls for a royal commission.
Their comments were quickly shot down by NT Police Minister Kate Worden, who accused Mr Dutton of ‘playing opportunistic, political games’ and labeling his words as ‘dog act’.
Country Liberal Party Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has criticized Anthony Albanese for ‘showing very little interest’ in issues facing the Northern Territory
But Senator Price has assisted the Liberal leader, saying Labor’s response to the problems plaguing the Northern Territory was “weak”.
“It tries to cover up that the Prime Minister has shown very little interest in what is going on in the Northern Territory, in Alice Springs,” she told Sky News Australia’s Outsiders on Sunday.
“The government has ignored these requests both federally and locally to the territorial government and the first thing they are trying to do is try to downplay the issue of sexual abuse of Indigenous children.”
SNAICC, the highest national body representing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families, rebuked Dutton for his comments about sexual abuse in Alice Springs.
SNAICC CEO Catherine Liddle said there was no evidence to support Mr Dutton’s claims.
“Sexual abuse is a very serious crime, which has a devastating impact on children, families and communities – this is not political football,” she said.
“The claims of ‘rampant’ abuse go against the evidence. Territory Families data shows that there has been no escalation in investigations into sexual abuse or exploitation.”
Senator Price said peak organizations such as SNAICC, along with the ABC, ignored “community issues” and instead focused purely on the Voice to Parliament.
“This isn’t black and white and I’m sick to death of it, I’m sick to death of separatism and the pursuit… (to) constitutionalize that separatism with this referendum,” she said.
“It’s fine to talk about the high rates of incarceration and how Indigenous people are disproportionately affected, but they don’t want to talk about the disproportionately affected children because of child abuse and child sexual abuse and all those numbers.”
The outspoken senator said it “absolutely breaks my heart” that SNAICC “downplayed” the issue.
“I’m just really angry at the way the ABC in particular has turned this into a Peter Dutton bashing exercise rather than really understanding that locals across the Northern Territory are desperate for change,” she said. said
Senator Price has backed Mr Dutton’s comments, saying the Labor government’s response to the problems plaguing the Northern Territory was ‘weak’ (pictured Prime Minister Anthony Albanese)
Labor MP for Lingiari NT voters, Marion Scrymgour, reacted to the conviction of Mr Dutton by the Police Minister.
Ms Scrymgour said the NT government had to ‘do their job’ and that it was clear that there were people ‘not taking the responsibility of dealing with these young people on the street’.
It’s because the latest data shows that reports of child abuse in the Northern Territory are five times higher than in any other jurisdiction in Australia.
The most recent data available from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare shows that 95.5 children per 1,000 in the NT were the subject of an investigation or report to child protection services in 2020/2021.
The NT rate is significantly higher than the Australian average of 21.4 children per 1,000.