NTCOSS News Sheet March 2010
Northern Territory Council of Social Service
NTCOSS NEWS SHEET – March 2010
The Federal Government’s controversial new legislation to partially restore the Racial Discrimination Act on prescribed communities in the Territory, and to expand the operation of the income management system, has not yet passed through the Senate. The opposition has now indicated that it will support the proposed legislation, but the timing will be very tight, given that elements of the proposed legislation are scheduled to take effect from 1 July 2010. NTCOSS believes that the government has failed to demonstrate that income management has been effective on remote Aboriginal communities, and that there is no clear evidence to support an expansion of the income management system.
Child Protection
NTCOSS provided a written submission and oral evidence to the NT Government’s inquiry into the child protection system. The major thrust of our submission was that the system was broken and needed to be redesigned from the ground up, rather than just patched. We need a holistic system which focuses on the family and on overall well-being, rather than one which is incident-focused. NGO’s should play a much greater role in the system and government should fully consult with the sector in designing a new and more effective system. A recruitment and retention strategy must be employed to attract and retain skilled and experienced staff.
Casuarina Liquor Accord
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has indicated that it will authorise alcohol supply restrictions in the Casuarina Business District which will limit the supply of takeaway pre-mixed drinks, large wine casks and fortified wines. The accord has been developed by a committee with representatives from local businesses, the NT police and NT licensing officials. This decisive action is in sharp contrast to the NT Licensing Commission’s recent move to stay a decision on restricting the supply of large wine casks in the Darwin/Palmerston area, merely because the minister has announced a public education campaign.
ACOSS Conference
A small contingent from NTCOSS travelled down to Canberra to hear a range of interesting and sometimes provocative speakers at the ACOSS conference. Amongst the key issues discussed were the growing challenges of both declining housing affordability and long-term unemployment. Of particular interest to the NT participants were sessions on income management, and on the challenge of providing remote Indigenous housing.
Media
During March, NTCOSS attracted unprecedented media coverage for our views, mostly as a consequence of our evidence given to the Child Protection inquiry. Barry Hansen and Wendy Morton both did interviews for ABC television. Wendy did a radio interview with Daryl Manzie on Territory FM, and Barry was interviewed on the ABC’s nationally broadcast ‘The World Today’ current affairs program. Wendy was also featured on a number of ABC radio news bulletins. The Weekend Australian covered the issue as did the Koori Mail. For the first time, NTCOSS also received detailed coverage in the NT News.
Training Opportunities
There are still a few places available in the ‘Workplace Bullying’ and ‘Workplace Financials’ free training sessions. For more details phone Roma at the NTCOSS office on 8948-2665.
Regards from the NTCOSS crew