500 pages of controversial legislation, a paltry one-day Senate hearing, and merely two days of debate for laws that dramatically affect land tenure, health, welfare and the rights of Aboriginal communities in the NT – and, above all, done with practically no consultation with the Indigenous people affected.
In just days we sent a strong and resounding message to our Senators – this legislation must not be passed in its current form. Problems of child abuse must be addressed but this hastily drafted and inadequate legislation is not the answer. We let our politicians know that we demand workable solutions based on proper consultation, and vigourous debate and rigourous scrutiny of the laws that do so.
During debate on the controversial laws, Senator Rachel Siewert tabled your 13,000 messages as an official Senate document. Thanks largely to public pressure, debate was extended until the end of the week, before being sadly passed without amendment.