The National Children's Commissioner has condemned both sides of politics for continually failing to address child maltreatment across the nation.
It comes a week after Opposition Leader Peter Dutton claimed widespread child sexual abuse was being ignored in Alice Springs.
His comments have ignited a political firestorm, with many claiming he is using a serious issue as a "political football" in his campaign against the Voice to Parliament.
But Commissioner Anne Hollonds said successive governments were to blame for a growing crisis.
And when it came to policy-making in Australia, the voices of children had been consistently ignored.
"Really, there should be a bipartisan commitment to ensuring that child wellbeing is a national priority," she said.
"And unfortunately, that hasn't been the case in this country."
Study reveals shocking levels of child maltreatment
A new Australian Child Maltreatment Study, released earlier this month, has revealed the scale of the issue across the nation.
It found more than two-thirds of Australians experienced maltreatment in childhood.
"That's a very high and very shocking number. And it's much bigger than we thought," Ms Hollonds said.
"In a rich and developed country like Australia, high levels of child maltreatment are a sign of the failure of our basic public service systems like health, mental health, education, and social services."
Most victims were exposed to two or more of the five child maltreatment types, which include physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, as well as neglect and exposure to domestic violence.
The study also revealed a lack of national data on the prevalence and patterns of child maltreatment in Australia.
Currently, there is no standardised reporting for child abuse and neglect across the nation.
This means data from different jurisdictions cannot be compared, making it difficult to get a true picture of child abuse across Australia.
"The lack of consistent reporting and data collection is a sign of how little of a priority child wellbeing has been in this country," Ms Hollonds said.
'Who's listening to them?'
The peak body for Indigenous children and families, SNAICC, has been calling consistently for the establishment of a national Indigenous children's commissioner to better address issues like these.
Ms Hollonds said she backed these calls, but feared if this role were established, it could be a "token gesture" without any real power to act independently on behalf of children.
"What we find with the children's commissioner roles … is that they make many recommendations based on their research and their engagement with kids and families," she said.
"But the question is, who's listening to them?"
Speaking last week about the issue, Mr Dutton claimed both the federal and Northern Territory Labor governments were neglecting to protect children in Alice Springs.
But NT Chief Minister Natasha Fyles has hit back this week, arguing the opposition leader was using this issue as a "side distraction".
"They're going through turmoil, they saw their Indigenous affairs shadow minister resign," she said.
"They don't genuinely care and that is represented by the fact that for the best part of a decade Peter Dutton never raised this issue."
Calls for royal commission
Mr Dutton has been calling consistently for a royal commission into Indigenous child sexual abuse in the country.
But Ms Hollonds argued this was not where energy should be focused.
She said despite numerous royal commissions and inquiries into child maltreatment throughout the years — and almost 3,000 recommendations over a decade — little had changed.
"It's not that we have a knowledge problem; we actually have a lack of accountability for action," she said.
Ms Hollonds said there was a desperate need to overhaul public services so they properly supported children and families.
She also called for an overarching national strategy for child wellbeing, with clear accountability across portfolios and jurisdictions.
"Currently, children's policy is widely scattered across numerous portfolios," Ms Hollonds said.
"There's not sufficient coordination, and a lack of accountability for action."
