David Shoebridge (NSW, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I wish to associate myself with the words of my colleague Senator Waters. For all of those senators who have spoken today about the death of Kumanjayi Little Baby—and this is a condolence motion—hearing the collective grief that unites us as individuals, feeling that grief reach across the country, thinking about Kumanjayi's family, her mum and her extended community, and spending a moment, even ever so brief, to recognise our collective humanity isn't a hollow moment. That's what the families have asked for. Senior Warlpiri Elder Robin Japanangka Granites, who's a spokesperson for the family, called for calm and asked for all of those who are grieving Kumanjayi Little Baby to honour sorry business. He said:

It is time now for sorry business, to show respect for our family and have space for grieving and remembering.

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This man has been caught, thanks to community action, and we must now let justice take its course while we take the time to mourn Kumanjayi Little Baby and support our family.

We need to hear that and we need to give that space. The family has asked that the focus remains on their little baby and the grief and the healing of the community.

I, with some other colleagues, was in the NT as the search was happening, and I spoke to colleagues and friends in Alice Springs, Mparntwe. In that moment, when the whole community came out and looked for this little girl—when Aboriginal controlled organisations, the council and people from across the town and across the community reached out and went searching for this little girl, because it was their shared little girl—that was a moment, wasn't it, in this appalling grief and loss. Everyone was coming together with a focus on this little girl and on supporting her family. We saw it in the candlelight vigils. We've heard about this little girl, Kumanjayi Little Baby, and her love for Bluey and her love for pink. She was a little girl like so many little girls we know in our daily lives—our little nieces, our friends' kids. That's what we should be reaching for. We should be recognising the strength of the community that came out and searched for a little girl because they loved the little girl, like her mum loved her little girl and like her family loved their little girl. They've asked us not to put politics into this. They have asked to have that shared moment of grief and shared collective love.

Catherine Liddle, the CEO of SNAICC and an Arrernte and Luritja woman from Central Australia, said when reflecting on pink, Kumanjayi Little Baby's favourite colour:

It is the colour of compassion. It is the colour of kindness. It is the colour of care. But it's also the colour of hope.

Catherine spoke to ABC News. She said she woke up in the morning and saw the sun rise over Mparntwe, and she said: 'This morning the other thing I saw that really rooted me into where we need to be—and that is our hearts with Kumanjayi Little Baby—was the pink sunrise.'

I hear the discussion here about rivers of gold going to First Nations communities. I don't know about you, but that doesn't reflect my understanding of the First Nations economic position in this country—living in endemic poverty, living in housing that we couldn't possibly support for others and the poverty we heard from Senator Liddle about the town camps. That doesn't say to me 'rivers of gold'. That says to me that First Nations people are living on country that was stolen and they have had wealth stolen from them. We should reflect upon that, this trope of 'rivers of gold'—reflect upon the reality of First Nations people's endemic poverty and the circumstances in which Kumanjayi Little Baby was being raised.

I hear calls about removing the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle, and I want to honour and respect Senator Thorpe's words in relation to that. Who knows how to best raise First Nations kids? They've been doing it for tens of thousands of years. It's First Nations families—mums, dads, uncles, aunties and grandparents. We need to lean into that and support that. But, right now, as Robin said, it's time for sorry business.