Costello hints at action over abuse

"We have to intervene. It's got very bad and we have to intervene for the sake of the children and the victims," Mr Costello told ABC Radio today.

It's finally time to act! Does anyone know how many years this abuse, now so public, has been going on? It's clearly not a new phenomenon. Could it be that the same kinds of abuses were exposed during the so-called 'stolen generations' era? We'll need to look at why previous Governments got it wrong and take steps to make sure any intervention works for the benefit of children without breaking up families or communities.

What kind of intervention does Mr Costello envision? "This is where people get very sensitive because it you intervene and take a child out of a community the next thing that will be said is 'stolen generation'," he said.

This is a hint at removal of children into care if there is evidence of abuse. One wonders if this will be the case if there are instances of abuse revealed amongst non-indigenous communities. So who will gain custody of removed children? Clearly this is going to be a very difficult problem to solve. But at least the Treasurer is saying something needs to be done. My hope is that the action taken isn't just constrained to the very public problem exposed in a few Aboriginal communities.

Intervention is a serious development if the government is to go down this path. It may be necessary, but we are going to have to move towards steps which bring about prevention rather than intervention. Starting with the exposure of the perpetrators of the crime. Let's attack child abuse everywhere!