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Extra investigative powers for Australian police are essential to help restore security in indigenous communities, members of the Northern Territory emergency response task-force heard yesterday.
Prime Minister John Howard and Indigenous Affairs Minister Mal Brough yesterday convened the first meeting of the 12-member taskforce established by the federal Government as part of its plan to try to stamp out alarming rates of child abuse in indigenous communities in the Territory. The plan includes bans on alcohol and pornography, welfare restrictions and mandatory child health checks.
Chaired by West Australian magistrate Sue Gordon, the taskforce heard reports from the three teams which visited six Aboriginal communities in the Territory in the past week.
Brough said the teams had established that extra police powers were necessary.
"What has become clear ... is that we will need not only just police officers, but obviously investigative capacity as well," Brough said.
He said it was not just normal police who were needed if serious cases of child abuse were uncovered in certain communities, but also officers who could deal with abusers and help ensure offenders were prosecuted and removed from the communities.
