Lidia Thorpe (Victoria, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Stevie Lee Nixon McKellar was a 27-year-old Gunggari man described by his mum Dr Raylene Nixon as cheeky and as the type who would care for strays, whether people or animals. He was a deeply empathetic young man with the ability to walk in others' shoes who would give you the shirt off his back. His auntie described him as a caring uncle for his niece and someone who would always make his family laugh. He was a young man who was deeply loved. In 2021, he was killed by Queensland cops. The last words Stevie heard were, 'Choke this cunt out,' before a police officer used a deadly restraint tactic on him euphemistically called—

Varun Ghosh (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm reluctant to interrupt you, and I apologise for doing so. I'm not sure what the protocol is when you're quoting language of that nature in this chamber. I will seek advice on that point. If, for the remainder of your speech, you would avoid using that language in this chamber, I would be most grateful.

Lidia Thorpe (Victoria, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is euphemistically called a lateral vascular neck restraint—in plain language, a chokehold. It is a restraint designed to restrict blood flow to the brain to choke a person's brain of oxygen. Stevie's final words were: 'Help me. Help me. You've got me.' He had chronic asthma and was suffering from pneumonia. He was weak, and he was met with lethal force.

But, once again, there was no prosecution of the police involved. Once again, the coroner absolved the cops of any wrongdoing and police were told they had done the right thing while another black family buried their child. Despite calls from Stevie's family, the coroner has refused to publicly release body cam footage of the moments leading up to his death. The police lawyers successfully argued that the footage should be withheld because of potential injury to the public interest when considering how the footage will likely be received. In short, it will make the cops look bad. The coroner accepted this cover-up of the cops' violence. More than 3,000 people have now called on the coroner to release the video of Stevie's final moments.

Just like Ned Hargraves and the family of Kumanjayi White have called for the release of footage of his death—which has dragged on for months with no clarity or resolution for the family—Stevie's family is also being denied transparency. This is the same issue: police investigating themselves and the coroner relying on evidence collected by the police about their own actions. Under this rigged system, our people will never see justice. The Albanese government can act. They could legislate minimum standards across prisons, policing and the criminal legal system if they wanted to. They could ban chokeholds nationally. They could also outlaw prone restraints—when a person is pinned facedown and pressure is applied to their back. David Dungay Jr was killed this way. George Floyd was killed this way. Kumanjayi White was restrained this way before he died.

In the case of Kumanjayi White, over 10 months later, Northern Territory police have made no prosecutions and given no resolution to the family. Findings were supposed to be released by the end of March. The deadline has now passed, and we've heard nothing. It follows a long, long history of violent police investigating themselves, a protection racket that consistently offers silence and denies our people any justice. The Commonwealth could legislate for a national police oversight body to investigate deaths in custody properly—one that provides real independence, with real legal experts, elders and community involved, not police investigating the police.

I stand with Stevie Lee Nixon-McKellar's family, particularly his mother, Raylene. Release the body cam footage. Ban chokeholds. Stop cops investigating cops. And stop killing our people.