The Australian Senate overwhelmingly approved a package of bills yesterday to fight what the government says is rampant child sexual abuse among Aborigines, clearing the last hurdle for a plan condemned by critics as a racist attack on indigenous rights.
The complex package of legislation passed 56 votes to six, with the major opposition Labor Party supporting Australian Prime Minister John Howard's coalition government. It was approved last week by the House of Representatives.
The government plans to seize some of the powers of the Northern Territory government in response to an officially commissioned report that found child abuse was widespread in indigenous communities on Australia's tropical northern frontier.
Under the plan, alcohol and hardcore pornography will be banned from Aboriginal communities and Aborigines will be forced to spend a portion of their welfare checks on family essentials like food.
Traditional owners will also lose their veto power over who enters Aboriginal-owned land in the Northern Territory, an area the size of Texas but populated by only 40,000 people.
The Senate vote was the final hurdle for the government in implementing the ambitious plan, which also involves increasing policing and medical checks in the Outback. The government estimates it will cost more than A$500 million (US$428 million) in its first year.
Labor had unsuccessfully proposed amendments that would have prevented the plan from being exempt from anti-discrimination laws.
Labor Senator Ruth Webber told the Senate during debate this week that she was critical of the government for failing to consult with Aboriginal people over the plan.
"I find this legislation difficult, but I will not allow my personal difficulties to stand in the way of making children safe," she said.
Senator Bob Brown, leader of the Greens party, called the legislation racist because of being exempt from the anti-discrimination laws that protect every other ethnic group in Australia.
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese