It's been standard practice for presenters at the Australasian Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect to "acknowledge the traditional owners of the land, and pay respects to elders past and present". It recognizes Australia’s Aboriginal history, and is a reminder of the consequences of colonization for children and families today. Unfortunately, recognition and concern have not translated into effective action.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in Australia comprise about five per cent of the total child population, and one-quarter of the in-care population. They are four times more likely to be investigated for suspected abuse or neglect, seven times more likely to be in foster care, and 23 times more likely to be on a youth justice order. The trend line for these grim statistics has not improved over time, and in some areas it is worsening.

But a longstanding concern in the Northern Territory, where 30 per cent of children are Aboriginal, is that lack of services has meant there has not been enough intervention to protect children. Dr Adam Tomison, Director of Policy and Service Development for family and children’s services in the Northern Territory Government, discussed the issues in his presentation on Thursday.

An inquiry into child sexual abuse in Aboriginal communities devised a comprehensive set of recommendations for the Northern Territory government to address the problems they found. [See: Little children are sacred.]

Tomison was an author of the report, and is now responsible for its implementation. Simultaneous with the release of the inquiry report in June 2007, the Commonwealth government announced unprecedented intervention in the Territory to address what they called the "state of emergency" uncovered by the inquiry.

The Commonwealth intervention has been very controversial – partly because it was imposed without consultation either with the Territory government or the Aboriginal people it is designed to help; and partly because some of the measures are problematic, such as removal of the permit system whereby Aboriginal people could control who entered their lands, use of the army to ‘restore law and order’, banning the sale and consumption of alcohol on communities, and an income management scheme whereby financial support can be withdrawn from parents who are deemed to be neglecting their children’s welfare. The public debate between opponents and supporters of the Commonwealth actions has been heated and divisive.

Tomison argued that despite polarization at the political level, on the ground, people are working to ensure the increased resources that accompany this political attention are used to maximum effect. He gave a balanced assessment of the merits and risks of the intervention. The benefits are largely in the form of increased services – therapeutic services, child care and early years services, health screening for children, night patrols, and safe houses are all welcome. And less alcohol and more policing means less violent communities.

The risks of the intervention mainly relate to the political pressure to act quickly, undermining efforts to introduce evidence-based programs in a planned way with genuine community engagement. A long-term plan of action is required that develops and sustains Aboriginal community control of services, and a remote community workforce instead of the unsatisfactory ‘drive in, drive out’ service delivery that currently predominates.

Improving the welfare of Indigenous children in Australia requires a much bigger investment of resources than government has thus far been prepared to make. It is not just a job for child protection agencies, it requires an integrated whole-of-government effort. There’s no shortage of examples in the child and family welfare field of good intentions having bad consequences. All power to people in the Northern Territory working to make sure this isn’t another unfortunate experiment.

• Clare Tilbury c.tilbury@griffith.edu.au is Senior Lecturer in the School of Human Services at Griffith University, Meadowbrook, Australia.