Are our children really sacred?

These changes make more sense, have a logic you can understand, if you happen to believe that the actual communities are dieing and cannot be sustained. Like a failed state they need someone to move in and take over the day-to-day running of everything. Not surprisingly some have described the NT intervention as an invasion and likened it to the invasion of Iraq.

The Federal ALP Government must make clear its views and intentions regarding the future of remote Aboriginal communities. That's what the NT intervention has actually been about. It must do what the Howard government would not do - publicly commit to supporting the viability and sustainability of remote Aboriginal communities. It needs to make it clear that it has no hidden agenda to sit by and watch communities wither away.

SNAICC knows who the first victims are when, through the insufferable burden of living without good quality education, housing, health, early childhood, policing, employment, transport and communication services, communities start to unravel. The first victims are the children. Children like the young girl raped and abused in Aurukun - a community living with an insufferable burden.

Ultimately the future of remote Aboriginal communities such as Aurukun is everyone's responsibility. Any debate or discussion about the future of these communities, and the many distinct Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures they represent, must not happen behind closed doors.

It is grossly unjust not to provide the basic services and infrastructure that any community needs to function well and then blame families in those communities for the dysfunction that follows. This is all quarantining welfare payments does. Supporting communities through the provision of basic infrastructure does not promote welfare dependency, it promotes human rights. The right to protection from abuse is one such human right and the right to education is another.

Calls for the new Federal Minister for Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, Jenny Macklin, to extend the NT intervention to Queensland don't go far enough. SNAICC has for decades called for national legislation to create a framework that sets outs standards for child protection, children's rights and a common approach to preventing child abuse.

Next week Jenny Macklin meets all her state and territory colleagues. She should tell them that national legislation for child protection is on its way.