A man, 24, faced Tennant Creek Local Court on Tuesday, charged with sexual intercourse without consent over the incident which has left the girl in an induced coma.

OUR SAY: OUR CHILDREN DESERVE BETTER

It has left the Tennant Creek community reeling and comes only a week after the Closing the Gap report showed much work had to be done to improve the lives of indigenous Australians.

The child’s mother and baby brother have flown to Adelaide to be by her side.

“It’s understood a party, with alcohol involved, was at the house preceding the incident,” a source said. “A man died in the house several weeks before.”

The girl was taken to Alice Springs Hospital on Friday and then on to Adelaide on Saturday for further treatment.

It is understood the little girl had to be put into an induced coma.

Tennant Creek Mayor Steve Edgington demanded Chief Minister Michael Gunner immediately address the issues plaguing his town.

“My reaction is shock and horror, like many residents of Tennant Creek,” he said.

“A sexual assault on any person, let alone a toddler, is a serious crime and simply can’t be tolerated in our community,” he said.

“I think it’s time for the Chief Minister to have a good look at what’s going on in Tennant Creek and come down and have a talk with the Aboriginal leaders and the agencies to see what is there, so that all of the agencies can work together to start identifying solutions.”

Acting Chief Minister Nicole Manison said she only learned of the “absolutely horrendous” alleged incident on Tuesday.

An emotional Ms Manison said the Government accepted responsibility for the alleged incident.

“I take that responsibility on board and we have failed that child and it’s not good enough,” she said.

“We have failed this child. We have failed this child and we need to do more.”

Ms Manison said the Territory faced huge social challenges.

“There have been too many tragedies in the history of the Territory. That’s a fact,” she said.

Mr Edgington said Aboriginal elders met on Tuesday morning “to discuss exactly what’s happened but again to try and think about what some of the solutions might look like”.

“Previously in Tennant Creek there’s been a council of respected elders, but there may be an opportunity for the government to work with elders to work together and find a solution to these issues,” he said.

Mr Gunner told the NT News on Tuesday night that acting chief minister Nicole Manison and Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw would fly to Tennant Creek Wednesday morning.

“We stand with the people of Tennant,” Mr Gunner said.

“This is a tragic, awful event. Repeated trauma has scarred our communities for decades. Too many Territorians have lived this nightmare for too long.

“Having a happy, healthy home should not be an aspiration it should be a God given right. “This is the demand on every Territory politician, public servant, community leader, elder and parent. We must do more, we will do more.”

Families representatives are also flying to Tennant Creek on today.

NT Police Association president Paul McCue said the incident involving the little girl was “tragic”.

“Everyone has a right to live in a safe environment, including our children,” he said.

“Tennant Creek, like all areas of the Territory, has ebbs and flows regarding crime, which can be dependent on a variety of reasons.

“Summer time, for example, traditionally results in an increase in crime, and the police continue to do everything they can to combat this with the finite resources they have.”

Mr McCue said it was important to remember police were only part of the solution.

“Other agencies and the public themselves need to play their part and contribute to a safe community,” he said.

“It is difficult to plan for this type of situation, other than working on creating safe family environments for everyone, including children.”

The man charged in relation to the two-year-old’s injuries was remanded to reappear at Alice Springs court on April 19.

He will appear on video link from Alice Springs Prison.

A Territory Families spokeswoman confirmed the family was known to the agency and they had provided the mother programs and services.

“An incident such as this must be immediately investigated by the Child Abuse Taskforce, made up of members of the Police and Territory Families. This occurred in this instance,” she said. “As the matter is before the courts, Territory Families is not in a position to provide further commentary ...”

EARLIER: A TWO-YEAR-OLD Tennant Creek girl is in an induced coma at Adelaide’s Women’s and Children’s Hospital after a suspected severe sexual assault.

A man in his early 20s faced Tennant Creek Local Court on Tuesday, charged with sexual intercourse without consent.

A source in Tennant Creek said the community was in shock over the incident.

The child’s mother and baby brother have flown to Adelaide to be by her side.

“It’s understood a party, with alcohol involved, was at the house preceding the incident,” the source said.

“A man died in the house several weeks before.”

The girl was taken to Alice Springs Hospital on Friday and then on to Adelaide on Saturday for further treatment.

A spokeswoman for the NT Department of Health said that alleged sexual assault was being examined as a possible cause of the girl’s injuries.

The NT News understands the Bornite St house where the alleged assault took place was well-known to Territory Families and NT Police.

Territory Families representatives are travelling to Tennant Creek on Wednesday to speak with the community.

NT Police Association president Paul McCue labelled the incident as “tragic”.

“Everyone has a right to live in a safe environment, including our children,” he said.

“Tennant Creek, like all areas of the Territory, has ebbs and flows regarding crime, which can be dependent on a variety of reasons.

“Summer time for example, traditionally results in an increase in crime, and the police continue to do everything they can to combat this with the finite resources they have.”

Mr McCue said it was important to remember police were only part of the solution.

“Other agencies and the public themselves need to play their part and contribute to a safe community,” he said.

“It is difficult to plan for this type of situation, other than working on creating safe family environments for everyone, including children.”

Mr McCue said families, the community and government departments needed to band together to ensure nothing like this happened again.

Territory Families Minister Dale Wakefield and the NT Children’s Commissioner have been approached for comment.

The man charged in relation to the two-year-old’s injuries was remanded to reappear at Alice Springs court on April 19.

He will appear on video link from Alice Springs Prison.