Child Protection Matters in the Northern Territory

Abstract

Although the policy giving rise to the Stolen Generation ended over 30 years ago, the removal of children from Aboriginal families remains a live issue for Australian governments. This is particularly so in the Northern Territory ('NT'), where the 2007 publication the Little Children are Sacred Report forced the sensitive issue back on the national agenda. A great deal has been written on appropriate state intervention where children have been subject to, or face a real chance of, abuse or neglect. Much of this literature, both Australian and otherwise, suggests that alternative dispute resolution ('ADR') in the form of family group conferencing ('FGC') is one way to produce positive child protection outcomes for children and families.