During his recent two-day visit to Alice Springs, federal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton made repeated claims about there being widespread child sexual abuse in the region.
He linked these claims to his campaign against an Indigenous Voice to Parliament, and accused both the territory and federal governments of neglecting residents of the outback town.
But Labor politicians at both levels of government have hit back, arguing Mr Dutton is using this serious issue as a "political football".
Peak bodies and academics have also called out Mr Dutton, urging him to report to police any allegations of child sexual abuse in Alice Springs that have been brought to his attention.
Some claim the problems that exist in Alice Springs have been overstated by Mr Dutton, and proposed solutions are being ignored.
But others have voiced concerns that current child welfare responses are inadequate, child sexual abuse is under-reported — and children are falling through the cracks.
Data shows Indigenous kids more likely to suffer neglect
The latest data from Territory Families shows there were 102 substantiated instances of child sexual exploitation in the NT in 2021-22.
That's more than four times the number reported six years prior, when 23 cases were substantiated.
Territory Families has clarified this spike was due to a change in reporting guidelines in 2019-20.
Once a claim is substantiated, it is passed on to police for further investigation.
However, the latest Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) data revealed just 31.9 per cent of child abuse and neglect claims in the NT in 2020-21 were substantiated.
The data also showed child abuse and neglect rates in the NT were five times the national average in that same period, with the majority of cases relating to neglect.
Almost 90 per cent of children in the NT who were the subjects of substantiated instances of abuse and neglect were Indigenous.
The same report showed if Victoria recorded identical rates of substantiated sexual abuse as the NT, Victoria's numbers would be triple what they were in 2020-21.
However, the AIHW warns statistics should not be compared between jurisdictions, as each state and territory collects and reports data differently.
This makes it difficult to get a definitive picture of how the NT's rates of child sexual abuse compare to the rest of the nation.
Dutton hits back at questions
This isn't the first time Mr Dutton has made claims about this issue.
Last year, he called for a Royal Commission into Indigenous child sexual abuse.
And on Wednesday, he raised his claims again.
"There are stories that we've heard today … about the dysfunction, the desperation of young Indigenous kids who are being sexually assaulted, still on a regular basis," he said.
When questioned by an ABC Alice Springs reporter about evidence of these claims the following day, Mr Dutton responded by saying it was "such an ABC question".
He said while he "didn't know" what academics and bureaucrats were saying, he had spoken to local police and social workers about the issue.
When pressed again later for evidence supporting his claims, Mr Dutton's office sent NT Police statistics to the ABC, which did not contain figures on child sexual abuse.
His office also sent through a Sky News interview with NT cosmetic nurse Rachel Hale, who spoke about the sexual abuse of children during recent frenzied media coverage of alcohol-fuelled violence in Alice Springs.
Ms Hale has since clarified she never worked as a registered nurse in Alice Springs.
Claims Dutton using children as 'political fodder'
Catherine Liddle is the chief executive of SNAICC, which advocates for Indigenous children and families nationwide.
An Arrernte and Luritja woman from Central Australia, she said Mr Dutton's rhetoric around sexual abuse in the community was exaggerated and harmful.
"You cannot keep throwing our children out as though they are all being abused, as though everyone is a paedophile, when there is no evidence to back it up," she said.
"They are not fodder for media, they are not fodder for politicians."
Ms Liddle urged the Opposition leader to report any sexual assault allegations he had been made aware of.
"These are really serious crimes. And legally, your job is not to stand in front of the media and say that you've heard this," she said.
"Your job is to ring up the authorities and get this investigated."
Mr Dutton has not confirmed to the ABC if he has reported any of his claims to authorities.
Price takes aim at SNAICC, Territory Families
During his visit to Alice Springs, Mr Dutton was joined by Country Liberal Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price.
Speaking to the media this week, she took aim at SNAICC, claiming the organisation had taken an "ideological line" that connection to country and culture was "more important than human rights".
She also claimed many Indigenous children roaming the streets of Alice Springs had been abandoned by Territory Families to live in unsafe homes.
"They've been left in dysfunctional circumstances or removed from healthy foster families and put back into dysfunction," she said.
Amanda Thompson, acting chief executive of Foster and Kinship Carers Association NT, said Ms Price's claims were correct.
"Here, we're supporting several carers at the moment that are in this situation," she said.
"And it has been a concern that these decisions are being made without really considering the best interests of the children."
Concerns children removed from safe homes
In the NT, more than 15 children per 1,000 live in out-of-home care.
It's by far the highest proportion in any state or territory in Australia — the next closest is South Australia, at 11.8 per 1,000.
According to SNAICC, Indigenous children are 10.4 times more likely to be in out-of-home care than non-Indigenous children.
Ms Thompson said there had been a "big focus" in Central Australia on returning children to their families — but claimed this was being done without considering child safety.
She said this was sparking a large drop-out rate among local foster carers, who were feeling increasingly disillusioned.
"And they're seeing some of the children that they've had in their care, now being some of the children that are roaming the streets of Alice Springs," she said.
While Ms Thompson agreed it was crucial children had a connection to family and culture, she argued this could be achieved while ensuring a child was in a safe, secure home environment.
"They need that for their sense of identity. It's important they maintain those connections and maintain their language," she said.
"But I don't see why they can't have both."
Calls for greater support and prevention measures
However, Ms Liddle disagreed there had been an increase in the number of children being returned to unsafe homes in Central Australia.
And she argued the rates of children being removed from their families had only increased since the Little Children are Sacred report was released in 2007.
"This is in direct contravention of what the Royal Commission into child sexual abuse showed ... that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are safer when connected to their families," she said.
Ms Liddle said the majority of children removed from their families were the victims of generations of poverty and neglect.
She called for greater investment in preventative measures and healing supports on the ground, to ensure child abuse didn't happen in the first place.
It comes as services continue desperate calls for needs-based funding, to ensure the NT receives funding based on need, not on population.
It was one of two recommendations in a recent report on the issues plaguing Alice Springs — and seen as a key step in breaking cycles of intergenerational trauma and disadvantage.
However, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has remained silent on whether his government will support this funding change.
Scrymgour calls out Territory Families for neglect
Amid a wave of backlash from Labor politicians this week, Territory Families Minister Kate Worden described Mr Dutton's comments as a "dog act".
But in a surprise move, Federal Member for Lingiari Marion Scrymgour has since spoken up, claiming Ms Worden should look to her own government's failures in protecting children.
"I think Kate Worden needs to look at her department, at herself, look at the act, and to deal with this issue," she said.
She claimed youth crime in Alice Springs came down to "between 50 and 100 kids" who were not being properly supported by the NT government.
"If all the government resources we put on the ground can't deal with these kids and the neglect that's happening — for goodness' sake, why are we here?" she said.
Concerns comments will do more harm
Chay Brown, an Alice Springs-based academic with extensive experience in the areas of domestic, family and sexual violence, said the real rate of child sexual abuse in the NT was likely much higher.
However, Dr Brown said the rhetoric in recent days threatened to keep people from speaking up.
"We should be focusing on a Centralian-led response," she said.
"Not only for child sexual abuse but for all the intersecting issues that we're facing here as a community.
"I think the abject failure of the Intervention — the Northern Territory Emergency Response — which was sparked by similar claims, proves that we have to do this in a new way."
Ms Liddle claimed that to date, Mr Dutton and Ms Price had not contacted SNAICC to discuss allegations of child sexual abuse in the NT.
"What's disappointing is we hear the same rhetoric repeated and repeated and repeated, and not a single solution," she said.
"What we're looking at in Alice Springs is the impact of years and years and years of policy failure.
"The failure to invest in our communities, the failure to ensure that children have access to appropriate education, that families were able to enter the workforce, that homes were safe, that there was enough housing, that communities were invested in.
"And that people actually have hope in their lives."
