Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says he’ll help to fix Tennant Creek problems

PRIME Minister Malcolm Turnbull wants to work with the people of Tennant Creek to fix the town’s social dysfunction, Mayor Steve Edgington said on Monday

PRIME Minister Malcolm Turnbull wants to work with the people of Tennant Creek to fix the town’s social dysfunction, Mayor Steve Edgington said on Monday.

Mr Edgington met with Mr Turnbull in Canberra on Monday following national outcry over the alleged rape of a two-year-old girl in the township.

“Certainly from the meeting it is clear to me that the Prime Minister is very interested in the issues in Tennant Creek and the Barkly region,” Mr Edgington said.

“He wants to work with the people in the Barkly to try to find solutions to the region’s problems.

“We took the opportunity to talk to the PM about the issues in the Barkly region but we wanted to do more than talk. We want to get a plan put in place so that we can move forward.

“What we spoke to the Prime Minister today was about an opportunity for the local government, Northern Territory Government and the Federal Government to work together.”

Earlier in Parliament, Mr Turnbull said: “The tragic events of recent times in the Northern Territory, and particularly the assault on the young girl at Tennant Creek, are heartbreaking.”

“The protection of children is our most sacred duty,” he said,

Chief Minister Michael Gunner said culture had been used as a “political football” when it comes to protecting neglected children.

Mr Gunner said removing a child who was at risk was not “attacking culture”.

“If a child is not safe in a home, if a two-year-old is at risk or a four-year-old or a six-year-old, that’s not a positive culture. That’s not a positive environment.

“That child should be saved, and governments have to sometimes step in and make those hard decisions,” Mr Gunner said.

Mr Edgington said he was keen to strike a City-type deal.

“There is a Darwin City Deal and there is an opportunity here for a regional deal where the three levels of government work together with a cultural authority group, the non-government sector and the Aboriginal organisations,” he said.

“If we focus on the social and economic outcomes for our region and get a plan together to develop the local economy and attract investment we could be on the right track.”

Mr Turnbull has instructed Indigenous Affairs Minister Nigel Scullion and the Minister for Social Services Dan Tehan to visit Tennant Creek in early July to progress some of the ideas discussed with Mr Edgington. A prime ministerial stopover in Tennant Creek, when he visits the NT in August, has not been ruled out.

— with Matt Cunningham