Controversial changes to child protection laws have passed the Northern Territory Parliament, sparking warnings the impacts will be carried by First Nations families for generations.
On Tuesday evening, the Northern Territory Parliament passed the Country Liberal Party (CLP) government's child protection reforms, promoted since the tragic death of five-year-old Kumanajyi Little Baby in April and described as the "most significant overhaul of the Territory's child protection system in a generation".
The new law removes the legal enforceability of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle (ATSICPP) — designed to ensure children removed from their families maintain connections to family, community and culture — so that it applies only "as far as practicable," while also capping protection orders at two years in favour of permanency placements.
In a statement, Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro and Minister for Children and Families Robyn Cahill said the legislation introduced "proactive efforts requirements so that families get support sooner and it modernises the Aboriginal Child Placement Principle to keep children connected to kin and culture".
"For too long, children were failed by a system that acted too late. These reforms fix that," Ms Cahill said.
"We are intervening earlier, backing families to turn things around, and keeping Aboriginal children connected to kin and culture where it is safe to do so."
Concerns about the changes were widely raised by First Nations leaders, child protection experts and politicians. A parliamentary inquiry into the legislation received 150 submissions, with 120 calling for the bill to be scrapped or substantially amended.
On Wednesday, National Commissioner for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People Sue-Anne Hunter said the passage of the laws was devastating.
The Every Child Matters Bill "will only have negative impacts on the care, safety and protection of First Nations children in the NT", Commissioner Hunter said. "Any politician, voice or commentator that says otherwise is incorrect."
"This decision is one Aboriginal families and communities across the Northern Territory will carry for generations."
Commissioner Hunter argued the weight of evidence presented to the parliamentary committee had been ignored, along with an independent review into the child protection system tabled on Tuesday, which found it was not a "lack of statutory authority or available protective mechanisms" that put the life of Kumanajyi Little Baby in danger before her tragic death in April.
"This is not ignorance. This is neglect," she said. "This decision will be one our children will suffer from and carry the consequences of for generations. This knee-jerk reaction is not something to celebrate. It is something to mourn."
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As protests against the bill took place outside Parliament on Tuesday, Shadow Minister for Children and Families and Child Protection Chansey Paech said the government had attempted to "divide Territorians into those who supposedly care and those who do not", labelling the move "insulting" and a "dishonest characterisation of this debate".
Mr Paech argued the new legislation would not make children safer, with the Northern Territory facing a shortage of child protection workers and receiving no new government funding.
"I reject the government's attempt to frame this debate as a contest between culture and safety; it is a false choice," he said. "For Aboriginal children, family, kin, culture, language, identity and country are fundamental parts to their well-being — they are protective factors."
Independent MP Yiŋiya Guyula told Parliament both the government and the bill were "wrong".
"This is a government that thinks it knows what is best for Aboriginal people," he said. "They are not experts. They are not Aboriginal people. They have not consulted experts or Aboriginal communities, but they think they know what is best."
In an emotional statement, the Yolŋu man said he was "angry and devastated" that the CLP had made "decisions about the removal of our children without the decency to talk with us, work with us, listen to our solutions and fix the problems".
"This is not something I will take lightly. It will cause harm and hurt many people," he said.
"It hurts me and it hurts my family, and I do not intend to pretend that is okay. Up until this point, I have said to the government and members of this parliament, 'Come sit down with me, visit me on my country and learn about our culture.' They have chosen not to do that; they have decided that they know what is best for us."
