The Wire

When was the last time you heard about the Northern Territory Intervention? Ostensibly in the name of protecting children from wide spread abuse, the Howard Government increased police numbers, health checks and introduced a system where welfare payments were managed by the Government. Back in 2007, right before the federal election, it received saturation coverage. Since then, the Rudd Government has continued to implement the Howard era policy. Three years on Indigenous lawyer and author Larissa Beherndt says even though there’s mounting evidence that it’s failed spectacularly, it’s unlikely to be an issue in this election.