Anthony Albanese has taken a swipe at the Northern Territory’s Country Liberal Party for systemic failures of care in Indigenous communities after visiting the family of Kumanjayi Little Baby in Alice Springs.
The prime minister lay flowers at Old Timers Camp on Wednesday, where the five-year-old’s family last saw her alive before she was allegedly abducted and murdered last month by Jefferson Lewis, 47.
“Clearly, the Northern Territory government have had responsibility since 2012 for the town camps. Clearly, there’s a need to do better to make sure that the living conditions are improved,” Albanese told reporters.
“I would say to the Northern Territory government that you’ll get better outcomes if you have an inclusive approach and you have buy-in to these issues,” he said.
Albanese was asked about new legislation, introduced after the alleged murder, that would prioritise child safety above all else. Advocates have accused the government of ignoring indigenous voices and criticised the move as potentially threatening efforts to ensure children who were removed from families remain connected to their culture.
The prime minister, appearing alongside his indigenous affairs minister Malarndirri McCarthy and special envoy for remote communities Marian Scrymgour, conceded all levels of governments need to better work together.
“We’ll work constructively with the Northern Territory government, but they also need to work respectfully with the local community, with the family, and need to make sure they involve First Nations people as well in this local community to work through these issues in the most constructive way possible,” Albanese said.
“This is a time where what I want to see is the different levels of government coming together with the community in the same way that the community has come together itself.”
Liberal frontbencher Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, who is the five-year-old’s aunt, has blamed a culture of silence, political correctness and systemic child protection failures for the death of her young niece.
Price, a Warlpiri/Celtic woman, used a condolence speech on the Senate floor to tearfully demand a national reckoning over violence, neglect and abuse in Indigenous communities.
She said governments and institutions had prioritised “cultural sensitivities and political correctness ahead of the safety of children”.
Albanese said he welcomed the opportunity to thank the emergency service workers and volunteers who came together to search for the girl before her body was discovered.
“It was mainly an opportunity just to say to the family, though, that the nation stands with them, they are not alone,” he said.
“This is a young person lost far too early under circumstances that are unbearable. They are trying to bear their way through this with dignity, with respect, and it is. It will remain something that is with them forever.”
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Brittany Busch is a federal politics reporter for The Age and Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email.
Nick Newling is a federal politics reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via X or email.From our partners
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