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DARWIN - Prime Minister John Howard has angrily dismissed the suggestion his radical plan to overhaul Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory is an election stunt.
He also slammed critics for focusing on issues such as a lack of consultation with Aboriginal people and the NT government, saying his first priority had to be the welfare of children.
The federal government has come under fire for adopting a rushed and paternalistic approach since it announced last week sweeping reforms to combat widespread child sex abuse in Aboriginal communities.
The reforms include alcohol and pornography bans, compulsory medical checks for children under 16 and conditional welfare payments.
About 60 communities will be controlled by the federal government under a five-year lease scheme while a team of police from around Australia, supported by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and backed up by Australian Defence Force (ADF) troops, will enforce the changes.
Asked if the reforms were a vote grab ahead of the federal election, Mr Howard angrily replied: "That is a ludicrous suggestion and you know it."
Mr Howard said Federal Indigenous Affairs Minister Mal Brough would be talking with representatives from the NT government today and he would be meeting with NT chief Minister Clare Martin later this week in Queensland.
So far, the Martin government -- which was only informed of the reforms when the prime minister went public -- has been sidelined by the Commonwealth.
"Obviously we will talk in great detail with people in the Northern Territory government but you've got to remember that the announcement was made on Thursday, the decision was made on Thursday," Mr Howard said.
Criticism about a lack of consultation with the NT government was "missing the point," Mr Howard said.
"The point is whether what we are doing is right or wrong, and what we are doing is cleary necessary and overwhelmingly needed given the scale of the problem," he told ABC local radio in Darwin.
"This is not something that can happen overnight but there will be a hook-up between him (Mr Brough) and relevant government ministers in the Northern Territory today."
The first step was to get police officers on the ground, he said.
"Until law an order is established ... then we won't be able to make progress on things like health checks and compulsory school attendance because there is a state of dysfunction in these communities, everybody knows that."
"The lack of community policing is at the heart of the current problem."
Mr Howard also dismissed the suggestion his reforms would not be willingly adopted by Aboriginal people.
"I have no doubt that the women and children of indigenous communities will warmly welcome the federal government's actions," he said.
"There can be no defence of the old order, the old order has failed and there are chronic levels of abuse, and what are we doing? We're arguing about whether the views of individual community leaders have been properly taken into account."
Mr Howard yesterday rejected a call for an urgent Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting to discuss his radical plan before the federal election.
A spokesman for the prime minister said the public has had enough of meetings and now was the time to act.
- AAP
