Mixed progress in Australia’s National Agreement on Closing the Gap

ABC NEWS (Australia)

The latest Closing the Gap report. It reveals only 4 out of 19 targets are on track to be met with the Northern Territory being the worst performing jurisdiction in the country. The rate of children behind bars is also soaring in parts of the country, as critics warn tough-on-crime policies are hurting vulnerable kids.

Transcript

00:00He was entrusted with the care of children across Sydney's northern suburbs and the CBD but our

00:08tarman man David James is accused of taking advantage of them. The AFP will allege the

00:14man took explicit photos of ten children aged between five and six over a three-year period

00:202021 to 2024. The investigation began when child abuse material was detected on the dark web and

00:27police identified who was allegedly responsible. In September Mr James allegedly

00:33refused police access to his electronic devices and was charged. Digital forensics

00:38cracked into them. In all we had to examine a hundred and forty two thousand files on

00:43his devices or 18.9 gigabytes. Not all those were child abuse material but it

00:49shows the effort it took to thoroughly go through every single file. In October he

00:54was charged with thirteen offences including nine counts of aggravated use of

00:58a child under 14 to make child abuse material and two counts of possessing

01:03child abuse material. The AFP has published a list of 58 centres where he

01:09worked. They allege the offending took place at six of them and all parents carers

01:14and operators from those centres have already been contacted. If you have not

01:19heard from the AFP it is because we have no evidence which has linked your family to

01:25this man's offending. David James's identity has been suppressed under strict

01:30court orders made last year while the victim identification process was under

01:34way. When his case was mentioned in court this morning his lawyer wanted that to

01:38be extended due to fears for his safety. The deputy chief magistrate Michael

01:42Antrim revoked the orders saying there was no evidence to back up suggestions of the

01:47safety concerns. The 26 year old was also a New South Wales probationary constable

01:53between 2021 and 2022 but failed to complete probation. His case returns to

01:59court in three weeks.

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