HUNDREDS of cases of criminal conduct and neglect allegedly perpetrated in indigenous communities have been handed to police and welfare agencies as a result of intelligence work by the Australian Crime Commission. Based on intelligence gathered from 177 communities, indigenous children as young as seven are actively using marijuana and having sex, while there is widespread evidence of child sexual abuse.
The commission's National Indigenous Violence and Child Abuse Taskforce revealed yesterday that 340 reports of alleged criminal conduct and neglect of young children had been sent to law enforcement and partner agencies for further action.
ACC chief executive officer Alastair Milroy expressed concern that while marijuana had been prevalent in indigenous communities, there was evidence that heroin, speed and ecstasy was now being used.
"We are starting to see signs of amphetamine-type stimulants such as speed and ecstasy and heroin being available," he said.
"If these types of stimulants are used by Aboriginals, they are not conditioned to this as some of the white community are, and it will be devastating.
"The more these communities are economically stable, and more money is available then drugs will come in. It is an area where we are gathering further intelligence with various police forces."
White truck drivers
Speaking to the Bennelong Society conference in Melbourne, Mr Milroy said the intelligence confirmed that earlier reports of Aboriginal teenage girls being targeted by white truck drivers offering cash for sex were not isolated incidents.
He said there instances of child sexual abuse including sodomy and rape, while a high number of sexual assaults, pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections had been reported among children under the age of consent. Intelligence had also confirmed examples of child sex offenders working with children in indigenous communities.
Mr Milroy said children had been gang-raped by teenagers but the crimes were not reported by the victims for fear of retribution.
The taskforce found a high level of sexualised activity and behaviour has been demonstrated by children, including seven-year-olds experimenting with sex and sex toys.
Intelligence also suggested that children as young as seven were actively using alcohol and drugs such as marijuana, or passively smoking the cannabis used by their parents.
Many 12-year-old girls were using contraceptive implants and/or taking injections, making them a target for sexual attention.
Mr Milroy said neglect of children - characterised by poor diet and nutrition, inadequate living and housing conditions, inappropriate clothing and a parental failure to enforce school attendance - appeared to be widespread across most jurisdictions.
He said the absence of parents from households led, in one instance, to a four-year-old child taking a group of younger children to the local police youth club because they were not being supervised.
Drugs and alcohol were also being brought into dry areas by white taxi drivers, truck drivers and pilots using charter planes.
It was important to acknowledge not all indigenous families lived with violence or substance abuse, not all indigenous men were sexual abuse perpetrators and not all indigenous communities were dysfunctional.
Between December 2006 and May this year, the taskforce made more than 177 visits to 142 communities, holding 1200 meetings and producing 800 information reports about indigenous violence and child abuse.
Mr Milroy defended the commission's coercive powers which he said had so far been used to obtain evidence to support allegations of under-reporting of abuse and intimidation of service providers.
