16th Aug 2007, 9:16 PM – Senate Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs and Other Legislation Amendment (Northern Territory National Emergency Response and Other Measures) Bill 2007 - In Committee ...

This division relates to the Policy For the NT National Emergency Response.

The majority voted against amendments introduced by Labor Senator Chris Evans, which means that it was rejected.

The amendments relate to the permit system so as to "allow access to roads and town community centres only to the class of people that we define in our amendments as 'designated persons'".(Read Senator Evans' full explanation of his amendment here. ) Senator Evans argued that this "is a better balance between providing openness and transparency about what occurs in communities and the need for those communities to have their culture and tradition protected, and the security of the people who live in those communities assured".(Read more about the changes to the permit system as proposed by the Government in the bills digest. )

Background to the bills

The Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs and Other Legislation Amendment (Northern Territory National Emergency Response and Other Measures) Bill 2007 was introduced along with four other bills:

• the Social Security and Other Legislation Amendment (Welfare Payment Reform) Bill 2007
• the Northern Territory National Emergency Response Bill 2007
• the Appropriation (Northern Territory National Emergency Response) Bill (No. 1) 2007-2008, and
• the Appropriation (Northern Territory National Emergency Response) Bill (No. 2) 2007-2008.

This legislation was introduced in response to the Report of the Northern Territory Board of Inquiry into the Protection of Aboriginal Children from Sexual Abuse, known as the Little Children are Sacred report, which was publicly released on 15 June 2007.(Read more about the background of the bills in the interim bills digest. ) That report came after concerns were raised on ABC's Lateline program in 2006.(Read the transcript for the Lateline programs that addressed the issue of child abuse in Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory here (the May 2006 program) and here (the June 2006 program).)