The Wire

The Northern Territory Intervention will soon be the subject of a United Nations Committee inquiry. Last week, the Federal Government rejected the findings of its own review board and is pressing ahead with quarantining welfare payments in the Northern Territory. A recently formed group, the ‘Prescribed Area Peoples Alliance have engaged Human Rights George Newhouse to prepare a complaint to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. The committee will meet in February 2009 in Geneva. Supporters of the complaint say that former Diplomat Kevin Rudd will be reluctant to jeopardize Australia’s international standing on this matter.