Marion Scrymgour (Lingiari, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I begin by acknowledging the family of Kumanjayi Little Baby. This pain cannot be compared. It is deep and it is unending. Not only to mourn such a tragic and horrendous loss but to mourn so publicly is an extremely difficult thing. Minister McCarthy and I were in Central Australia when we received the news that Kumanjayi Little Baby had been found. There was an immense and collective outpouring of grief. That evening I went to see, and sat down with, the grandmothers of Kumanjayi Little Baby to pay my respects. They told me very clearly what they wanted in terms of seeing justice done.

It is a matter of pride and gratitude—specifically endorsed by Mr Robin Granites, grandfather of Kumanjayi Little Baby—that the entire Alice Springs community has come together as one over the last couple of weeks. Hundreds of volunteers joined extensive line searches and scoured bushland for a little girl who was missing. Whatever cultural differences may have separated volunteers and well-wishers from the family evaporated in a wave of shared human empathy and concern. The community has shown where it stands and for whom it stands. Everyone is committed to the proposition that little children are sacred.

It is likely that no other town in Australia could have displayed more compassion, responsibility and care. I want to thank those on the ground coordinating logistics: the Northern Territory police and emergency services, Tangentyere, the Central Land Council and the Central Australian Aboriginal Congress. In particular, our local businesses and our community showed immense generosity of spirit and resources. I have spent considerable time talking to the Granites family. I remain in contact with them still on how to approach this discourse. That is entirely appropriate.

I would like to pay my respects to the White and Rockman families, who are also kin to Kumanjayi Little Baby. The family has made it very clear: we do not want the death of this little baby to be politicised or to be used as a trojan horse for another government intervention. We must be collaborative, we must be constructive and we must respect their grief. That is not inaction. That is not abdicating accountability. It is saying we respect your immense hurt.

We all want to see justice for Kumanjayi Little Baby, but we also must be very clear about how we seek that justice. We cannot demonise town campers. Conditions in town camps can often be very challenging, and in many cases people are forced to live in harsh and insecure conditions. These conditions are not the result of personal failings. It is the result of systemic failures, and governments of all persuasions and at all levels either condoned or exacerbated these conditions. We have not done enough.

We must grapple with the fact that the conditions in town camps are not what they should be, but town campers are not to blame for this tragedy. The family are certainly not to blame, and we must take a wide and honest look at the circumstances that led to this. If it takes a village to raise a child, then the entire village must look at what responsibility it takes when things go wrong. But for the moment the family has asked: 'We must come together. We must show grace and empathy and stay connected.' To the family and to my entire community in Alice Springs: I share in your grief and I share in your resolve.

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