Fri. Nov 22nd, 2024
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Northern Territory Police Minister Kate Worden says Opposition Leader Peter Dutton and Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price have failed to report their repeated claims that Indigenous children in Alice Springs are being returned to their abusers.

During a visit to the region earlier this week, Mr Dutton repeated his claims that sexual abuse of Indigenous children in the town is rampant.

When asked to provide evidence backing his repeated claims, he said he didn’t know what academics and bureaucrats were saying, instead insisting that he had spoken to local police and social workers.

Appearing on the ABC’s Insiders program on Sunday morning, Jacinta Nampijinpa Price said she “assumes” the allegations of child sexual abuse have already been reported to police.

Senator Price was asked numerous times whether she or Mr Dutton reported the allegations of abuse to police, under mandatory reporting requirements in the Northern Territory.

“We’re not stupid — Peter Dutton is a former policeman, he knows what needs to be done,” Senator Price said.

When pushed again, she insisted the reporting process “had been done”.

“Well, if that’s what [the territory’s Department of Families] know about them, I’m assuming that they have reported that,” she said.

Ms Worden said she has heard “crickets” from the Coalition pair over the matter.

“If they want to make allegations like that, they need to come forward with evidence … you can’t just claim these things and then walk away,” Ms Worden said.

“This is classic ‘drop a bomb and walk away’ [scenario].”

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