Police and soldiers began deploying to outback Australia yesterday as part of a radical plan to end child sex abuse in Aboriginal communities, a move that has been criticized as a return to the nation's paternalistic past.
Australian Prime Minister John Howard last week announced he would use police backed by military logistics to seize control of indigenous camps in the Northern Territory to protect women and children.
The controversial decision, which includes bans on alcohol and pornography and medical check-ups for all children under the age of 16, was taken following a damning government report into child abuse in indigenous communities.
Indigenous Affairs Minister Mal Brough said 20 Australian Defence Force personnel were already on the ground and their number would be boosted in coming days as they prepared to deploy to remote communities.
"Right now I'm trying to stabilize in the order of 70-odd towns in the territory -- that is a massive undertaking," Brough said.
Federal police also began arriving in the Northern Territory capital, Darwin, yesterday, along with those from several states, each of which has been asked to contribute 10 officers.
But one of the most troubled communities, Mutitjulu, near Uluru, has questioned what some of its leaders termed a military occupation.
"The fact that we hold this community together with no money, no help, no doctor and no government support is a miracle," community leaders Bob and Dorothea Randall said in a statement released by their lawyer.
"Police and the military are fine for logistics and coordination, but healthcare, youth services, education and basic housing are more essential," she said.
They also questioned whether children should undergo medical checks.
"Of course, any child that is vulnerable or at risk should be immediately protected, but a wholesale intrusion into our women and children's privacy is a violation of our human and sacred rights," the Randalls said.
Former conservative prime minister Malcolm Fraser also criticized the plan as a throwback to paternalistic practices of the past, such as the removal of Aboriginal children from their families.
"People must be treated with respect, and in relation to this point they have not been," Fraser told ABC.
"In relation to that, I said it was a throwback to past paternalism because it clearly this time has been put in place, announced without any consultation with the communities," he said.
Howard dismissed accusations of high-handedness over the plan, which was devised without consultation with Northern Territory leaders.
"I have no doubt that the women and children of indigenous communities will warmly welcome the federal government's actions," he said.
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