First published in The Age

PROTECTING children from abuse should receive the same Federal Government leadership as the recent intervention in the Northern Territory, the national child protection chief of the Anglican Church said yesterday.

Garth Blake, SC, introducing child protection measures at the church's three-yearly parliament in Canberra, said federal and state governments were moving too slowly.

"There doesn't seem to be the political will by the Commonwealth, said Mr Blake, head of the church's professional standards commission.

"There was a summit in Melbourne last year, and it's on the agenda of the council of community welfare ministers, but how long does it take?"

The Federal Government claimed child protection was a state responsibility, but an area of such national concern needed national leadership, he said.

"We would like to see federal leadership on this to bring together the states and stakeholders. We would like to see the same sort of urgency that has been given to (intervention in) the Northern Territory."

Mr Blake urged the Government to appoint a minister for children and to develop a national strategy on child abuse and neglect.

He said states and territories should have uniform mandatory reporting and screening of people who wanted to work with children. At present four have different protocols and four have none.

Sydney director of professional standards Philip Gerber said Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd should be asked whether an alternative government would appoint a national child protection commissioner, as urged by many professionals in the area.

Also speaking at the parliament, Melbourne Archbishop Philip Freier said the Government needed to monitor the intervention in the Northern Territory, especially the effectiveness of quarantining welfare payments, medical examination of children and plans to compulsorily acquire land.

"I am grateful that our Government has at last decided to take Aboriginal disadvantage seriously," said Dr Freier, a former bishop of the Northern Territory.

"But I, like many others, have misgivings about the way the Government responded."

He said there was no dialogue with the affected communities before radical legislation was forced through and the troops moved on to Aboriginal lands.

"These radical remedies have not been applied to dysfunctional, abusive communities, families or individuals in the rest of Australian society. Some might call this a form of racism."