Malarndirri McCarthy (NT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Indigenous Australians) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—I move a motion relating to Kumanjayi Little Baby, as circulated:

Omit all words after "That the Senate" and insert:

(a) mourns the tragic death of 5-year-old Kumanjayi Little Baby;

(b) extends its deepest sympathies to her family, her communities in Mparntwe/Alice Springs, the Warlpiri and Gurindji families of Kalkarindji, and all Australians who grieve her loss;

(c) recognises that this child's death is not an isolated tragedy but a consequence of ongoing community dysfunction that governments have failed to address honestly or effectively;

(d) commends the volunteers, community members, police and emergency service workers who searched tirelessly for Kumanjayi Little Baby, especially the NT Police;

(e) calls on the Federal and Territory Governments to take immediate, concrete action to address the conditions including family violence, inadequate policing resources, and child protection failures that put children at risk in remote communities;

(f) demands that governments be held accountable for delivering measurable outcomes, and that community safety in remote Australia be treated with the same urgency afforded to any other Australian community;

(g) affirms that every child in this country deserves protection regardless of where they live, and that real respect for this community means action and accountability; and

(h) affirms that the safety and wellbeing of Indigenous children must always come first.