Let whites adopt more: MP

WHITE families should be allowed to adopt abused Aboriginal children to save them from rape, assault and neglect, the federal children’s minister said yesterday.

David Gillespie, the Assistant Minister for Children and Families, wants to relax rules requiring Aboriginal children to be placed with their relatives or other indigenous families. He said the need to keep Aboriginal children in indigenous communities “doesn’t trump other issues’’ and called for more widespread adoption.

“In small communities, if a family is dysfunctional, that’s not satisfactory,’’ he said.

“I don’t want them recycled back into harm. I’ve had my eyes opened in the last couple of weeks . . . looking at STD rates [among Aboriginal children] is just mind-blowing.’’

Dr Gillespie, a Nationals MP, said it was “pretty poor’’ 143 of the nearly 48,000 Australian children in foster care last year had been adopted.

“Foster care is not ideal but there is a reluctance to put them in a more permanent situation for fear of creating another Stolen Generation.

“I’m more worried about creating an abandoned and damaged generation. If a child is being raped we can’t just say it’s OK on cultural grounds.”

Aboriginal leader Warren Mundine, who chaired the Abbott government’s indigenous advisory council and is a former Labor national president, yesterday called on police, judges and welfare workers to “be tough’’ on abuse in Aboriginal communities.

Mr Mundine said “political correctness nonsense’’ prevented Aboriginal children getting help.

“You’ve got to be tough,’’ he said.

“People are constantly talking about cultural issues, but what sort of culture are kids living in if their parents are drugged up and drunk every day?’’

Mr Mundine said perpetra- tors “need to go to jail – they should lock them up and throw away the key’’.

“We need to support the police because they do a tough job – but when they see abuse and take kids away they get called racists,’’ he said.

Mr Mundine said he was upset so many Australians had marched to protest against “Invasion Day’’ while ignoring an epidemic of child abuse.