Children should be saved before we save Aboriginal culture Part-Aboriginal academic Anthony Dillon on the new racism which kills: THE death of six-year-old Kiesha Weippeart makes me wonder whether we are creating an abused generation of Aboriginal children. .. While many have been outraged by what they see as a lenient sentence for the mother, I am outraged by the role Aboriginal ancestry may have played and how we as a society have been conditioned to factor in Aboriginal culture when deciding how best to help or care for Aborigines. Because Kiesha had Aboriginal ancestry, there has been speculation that this may have prevented appropriate actions that could have saved her life. Courts in NSW and Victoria require welfare authorities to keep children with what they deem to be "culturally appropriate" carers. Most Aboriginal children live with loving families, often with Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal parents and other relatives. But when a child is in need of protection or removal and has Aboriginal ancestry, even if that ancestry is minimal, the practice of keeping that child with its own or another Aboriginal family, despite neglect or abuse, has devastating consequences. In the name of preserving culture, neglected children sometimes end up being placed in shocking environments... Is it really inappropriate to place Aboriginal children with non-Aboriginal carers? I don't think anyone would mind if non-Aboriginal children were placed in the care of loving Aboriginal carers. Is there a sort of racism happening here?... For those who believe culture should be placed ahead of a child's essential needs, I urge you to stop. For those who believe Aboriginality should be elevated above other racial groups, I urge you to stop... There are many dimensions to our lives - gender, sexual orientation/preference, religion, race. To focus on one and, in the case of Aboriginality, to obsess about it, is proving deadly to many. Miranda Devine: Why was the case worker's recommendation of permanent removal over-ruled by the court?... The court was complying with the Aboriginal Placement Principles of the Children and Young Persons Act which effectively requires welfare authorities in NSW to keep a child with its family or place the child with "culturally appropriate" carers, even though Aboriginal foster carers are thin on the ground...