The National Network of Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls condemns the Finocchiaro Government’s plan to force parents into income management if their children do not attend school.
‘This policy is not about children’s education, it is about punishment, control, and racialised surveillance. Income management is racist, cruel, and deeply colonial,’ said Debbie Kilroy.
‘The NT Government is once again weaponising poverty and parenting, using punitive social policy to target Aboriginal families under the guise of “community safety.” There is nothing safe about state violence. There is nothing caring about taking food from children’s mouths,’ said Debbie Kilroy.
‘While we acknowledge that school attendance is a government priority, punishing families will not address the reasons why many children do not feel safe or supported in school environments. Children disengage from education for complex reasons: racism, bullying, trauma, poverty, disability, language barriers, and the ongoing impacts of colonisation,’ said Debbie Kilroy.
‘If this government truly cared about Aboriginal children, it would work with families and communities to make schools accessible, culturally safe, and welcoming, not impose economic punishment on already struggling households. The answer lies in relationships, not retribution,’ said Debbie Kilroy.
‘Instead of investing in care, the CLP has chosen coercion. Framing school attendance as part of a “law and order” agenda reveals the real intent of this policy: to criminalise poverty and pathologise Aboriginal parenting,’ said Tabitha Lean.
‘This is a dangerous continuation of colonial control, another iteration of the same paternalism that tore generations of children from their families under the Stolen Generations,’ said Tabitha Lean.
‘These punitive strategies do not work. What they do is drive up crime by pushing people into financial devastation, hunger, and homelessness. Families are already being stretched beyond survival. Now, the state threatens to take even more,’ said Tabitha Lean.
‘Education should be built on trust, belonging, and community, not fear and punishment,’ said Tabitha Lean.
The NT Government must abandon this harmful proposal immediately and instead invest in:
- Community-led and culturally grounded education initiatives.
- Properly resourced schools that employ Aboriginal educators and interpreters.
- Support services that address trauma, poverty, and housing instability.
- Relationship-based approaches that empower families instead of policing them.
The National Network remind the government: control is not care. Punishment is not policy. And taking money from parents will not keep children safe, it will deepen the very harms this government claims to fix.
For further comment, please contact Debbie Kilroy on 0419 762 474 or Tabitha Lean on 0499 780 226
