The resignation of the Northern Territory's Children's Commissioner is evidence that the NT Government shows a "lack of care and accountability" towards First Peoples, the peak advocate for Indigenous children says.
The bombshell announcement by Shahleena Musk — a Larrakia woman and former crown prosecutor — to stand down from her role as Commissioner, citing concerns about the Territory Government's approach to governance, transparency and child protection reform, came in the wake of a Country Liberal Party (CLP)-led committee this week seemingly ignoring evidence and expert advice and recommending controversial child protection laws be passed.
In her resignation statement, Ms Musk warned of what she described as a declining commitment to transparency, accountability and evidence-based decision-making in the Northern Territory, saying it risked undermining public confidence in government institutions.
"Public confidence in our institutions depends on openness, meaningful consultation and a willingness to test policy proposals against available evidence," she said.
"Where these principles are diminished, the quality of decision-making and public trust are inevitably affected."
The National Commissioner for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People, Sue-Anne Hunter, said Ms Musk's inability to carry out her legislated role effectively "shows first-hand the lack of care and accountability they [the NT Government] have towards our people".
"These circumstances are dire. There is no other way to put it," Commissioner Hunter said.
"I am saddened that Shahleena has resigned from a role she was incredibly passionate about due to the inability to have a proactive working relationship with the NT Government.
"Our governments are failing us; this is evident now more than ever in the NT. Our children are the ones dealing with the consequences. We need systemic reform, and we need our governments to listen to us."
Labor leader Selena Uibo — the country's first female Indigenous leader of a political party — labelled Ms Musk's resignation a "serious indictment" of the CLP Government's "approach to child protection, reform and independent oversight".
"When the independent Children's Commissioner says she has been sidelined, excluded from major reforms and can no longer support the Government's approach, the CLP Government should listen," Ms Uibo said.
"These are not comments from a political opponent; they are the considered views of the statutory officer whose job is to protect the interests of vulnerable children."
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Concerns over governance and reform
Since being elected in 2024, the CLP Government has introduced several laws that experts say blatantly disregard the Closing the Gap Agreement, including lowering the age of criminal responsibility and strengthening bail laws.
The CLP Government has been unapologetic with their reforms, openly chastising experts who oppose them and arguing the Closing the Gap agreement can't come before government-mandated policy.
Ms Musk argued independent oversight bodies were essential to good governance and protecting vulnerable people, rather than acting as obstacles to reform.
"Undermining these institutions risks weakening the checks and balances that underpin democratic government," she said.
"I remain hopeful that future discussions about child protection reform will place children and young people at their centre, draw upon the best available evidence, and fully engage with the independent bodies established to contribute to better outcomes."
While the Government argues the changes to its child protection laws — first announced after the tragic death of Kumanjayi Little Baby earlier this year — will make children safer and offer greater stability for young people removed from their families, experts say they will lower the threshold for child removals, weaken the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle (ATSICPP), and make it easier for Indigenous children to be placed permanently with non-Indigenous carers.
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Committee recommendation draws backlash
The latest reforms prompted 120 of the 150 submissions to call for the legislation to either be scrapped or substantially amended.
Despite that, in a 3-2 split, the CLP-led committee recommended the bill be passed, with support largely coming from the Northern Territory Police Association, the Australian Christian Lobby, the Foster and Kinship Carers Association of the Northern Territory, and Liberal Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price. The committee's two non-government members opposed the recommendation.
"Peak legal services, medical associations, community-controlled organisations, and more than 120 of the 150 submitters told this committee the bill should not pass," committee member and Independent MLA Justine Davis said in her dissenting report.
"That is not a close call. It is an overwhelming, consistent verdict from the people and organisers who work in this system every day and who are directly accountable for its outcomes."
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Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance Northern Territory chief executive Donna Ah Chee said the weakening of the ATSICPP risked "weakening long-standing protections for Aboriginal children and have not been supported by evidence demonstrating they will improve outcomes".
"These are major legislative changes with lifelong consequences for Aboriginal children and families," she said. "History has shown the devastating harm caused when Aboriginal children are disconnected from family, culture and community."
The peak body for First Nations children and young people, SNAICC - National Voice for our Children, said the committee's recommendation, despite the overwhelming evidence presented, showed the inquiry was nothing more than a political exercise.
Chief executive Catherine Liddle labelled it an extraordinary rejection of decades of evidence, arguing the committee "chose politics over evidence and it is Territory children and families who will pay the price".
"You cannot claim to put children first while rejecting the evidence about what keeps children safe," she said.
