SNAICC in the News

4 – 10 July 2026

This week, the Northern Territory Legislative Scrutiny Committee has chosen politics over evidence despite overwhelming warnings from those working every day to keep children safe.

As the Bill moves closer to passing, SNAICC’s CEO Catherine Liddle reflects on the loss as the Territory’s Children’s Commissioner resigns.

And as NAIDOC week events across the country celebrate 50 Years of Deadly, Catherine Liddle reflects on how Deadly mob are when we come together and build.

Here is a look at where the conversation has been, 4 – 10 July 2026.

Politics over Evidence: NT Committee Backs Bill as Children’s Commissioner Resigns

The Northern Territory Legislative Scrutiny Committee has chosen politics over evidence, recommending the Every Child Matters Bill proceed despite overwhelming warnings from those working every day to keep children safe, as ABC News reported.

Of the 150 submissions to the inquiry, the vast majority called for the Bill to be scrapped or substantially amended. The committee recommended it proceed with only one minor amendment.

The recommendation confirms what Aboriginal Community-Controlled Organisations, child protection experts and frontline services feared from the moment the Bill was introduced, that this was a political exercise rather than evidence-based reform.

In coverage in National Indigenous Times, SNAICC CEO Catherine Liddle said the decision was an extraordinary rejection of decades of evidence, arguing the committee chose politics over evidence and it is Territory children and families who will pay the price:

“You cannot claim to put children first while rejecting the evidence about what keeps children safe.”

“The evidence opposing this harmful legislation presented to this inquiry was overwhelming. From Aboriginal Community-Controlled Organisations to child protection experts and frontline services, the warnings were clear. Yet our evidence and expert advice has been ignored.”

CEO Catherine Liddle also spoke to ABC News’ Jacqueline Breen and Alicia Perera, saying that the recommendations went against overwhelming evidence against the reforms.

“This was a political exercise from the get-go.”

“This recommendation flies in the face of everything we’ve learned over generations. Time and again, inquiries have found that unnecessarily separating children from their families and culture causes lifelong harm.”

The Bill broadens the grounds for government intervention in family life and changes the operation of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle, the child safety framework that keeps children connected to family, kin, community and culture.

While Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children will bear the greatest impact, every Territory family should be concerned. In National Indigenous Times, Ms Liddle said:

“This Bill lowers the threshold for removing children from their families and expands the powers of a child protection system that is already under immense pressure.”

“In a jurisdiction that already has some of the poorest child protection outcomes in Australia, this is a dangerous step backwards.”

Hours after the committee handed down its report, the Northern Territory Children’s Commissioner, Shahleena Musk, a Larrakia woman, announced her resignation, citing her sidelining from the reforms and the erosion of independent oversight, as National Indigenous Times reported.

SNAICC’s response was carried in news bulletins on ABC News Radio and ABC News Breakfast, which reported that we described the resignation as a huge loss and Ms Musk as a brave commissioner who shone a light on systems and policies needing change.

SNAICC’s CEO Catherine Liddle joined ABC News Radio and the Top End Aboriginal Bush Broadcasting Organisation saying:

“I’m saddened to see the Commissioner resign. She was a good commissioner, and the first thing I want to do is thank her. It’s a really difficult job.”

Speaking with ABC Alice Springs, Ms Liddle said the Northern Territory depends on having a Children’s Commissioner with real teeth:

“You don’t want a commissioner that sits on the sidelines. You want a commissioner that can get in and shine a light and hold systems and policies to account.”

Children are safest when families are supported early, and when children remain connected to their kin, culture and community wherever it is safe to do so.

50 Years of Deadly: Building Our Own Tables

SNAICC CEO Catherine Liddle marked the start of NAIDOC Week by reflecting on what this year’s theme, 50 Years of Deadly, means to her, speaking with ABC Alice Springs’ Elsie Lange at the NAIDOC march in Mparntwe (Alice Springs).

Mparntwe holds a special place in this year’s celebrations, with members of the National NAIDOC Committee visiting for the week and the National NAIDOC Awards coming to the town on 15 August.

SNAICC’s CEO Catherine Liddle, spoke with ABC Radio Alice Springs as she reflected on this year’s theme of NAIDOC Week, 50 Years of Deadly.

“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about that, and for me, it makes me think about the kitchen table. The kitchen table was where our family always sat around to talk about things, to draw NAIDOC posters, to have conversations about the issues that were impacting on us and how we understood those issues.”

“It’s where we grew up understanding that we were deeply connected to something a lot bigger than us. That kitchen table’s changed a lot over the years, but it was built specifically for us.”

“Behind us would sit my nana, because she didn’t sit at the kitchen table. She was never welcome at tables. So she sat behind us the whole time, and it was built specifically so she could be there.”

“So today, what I think about is 50 years of building our own tables and understanding that we’re deadly when we come together.”

For almost four decades, SNAICC has been a driving force in National Advocacy. In 1991, the theme for National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Day called for an enquiry into the Stolen Generation. This call marked the first Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisation to call for a Royal Commission into the Stolen Generation.

SNAICC is celebrating NAIDOC week this week with a look back on 38 years of Children’s Day marking the week by returning to where it all began, celebrating the strength, culture and community it was built on, and looking to where it is headed next.