A child’s life first priority

WHAT comes first — a child’s life or its culture?

WHAT comes first — a child’s life or its culture?

Territory Stolen Generations Aboriginal Corporation chairman Eileen Cummings is unequivocal — the life of the child. How important is the child’s culture if it’s not alive to enjoy it?

Indigenous campaigner against family violence Jacinta Price was equally unequivocal when she said the Territory Government must start being serious about protecting the lives of at risk Aboriginal children and prioritising their lives instead of prioritising “wishy washy bullshit about culture.”

Former chairman of the Federal Government’s indigenous Advisory Council Warren Mundine is talking the same language.

“The next time an Aboriginal leader stands up worried about the child, worried about a stolen generation, for God’s sake, think about the child,” he said.

The message is clear. No matter what the colour a child is, if its life is at risk it should be taken from its family. You do have to make sure the Territory’s children are absolutely safe and this rule should apply to all cultures in this country.

We should not let the issue of culture blur the lines so much so that it outweighs the safety of at-risk children.

The system most definitely needs to get away from this whole narrative of the Stolen Generation. Taking at-risk children away from dysfunctional families must happen. It is not a case of Stolen Generation.

It is simply doing what is the right thing and in the best interests of a child, their future and Australia’s future.

Action should have been taken to remove the two-year-old Aboriginal girl allegedly raped in Tennant Creek last week, well before she became the victim of such a sickening crime.

We owe it to the parents to do what is right to protect the life of their child. We also owe it to the parents to help them get control of their own life.

There is no benefit to the community or the child if nothing is done to help the parent and the dysfunctional families get their lives together. Through any audit of the Territory Government’s Department of Families we must come up with a workable system that supports any attempt by the family to play their role and improve their lives, which they need to do, to get any removed children back.