Aboriginal Deaths in Custody

The PRESIDENT (09:01): The Senate will now consider a motion to be moved by Senator Thorpe. Before you move your motion, Senator Thorpe, may I remind you that it's fine to have a message stick in the Senate, but the procedure is that you advise me and the Deputy Clerk of your intention to bring a message stick into the chamber. Thank you.

Senator THORPE (Victoria—Independent VIC Whip) (09:02): Thank you, President. I move the motion as circulated:

That the Senate—

(a) notes that on 27 May 2025, 24-year-old disabled Warlpiri-Luritja man Kumanjayi White died a tragic death under police restraint inside a supermarket in Mparntwe/Alice Springs;

(b) extend its deepest sympathies to the family of Kumanjayi White and the Yuendumu community;

(c) notes that 17 First Nations people have died in custody this year and extends its deepest sympathies to the families of these people;

(d) resolves that all parliamentarians will work constructively together to address the over-incarceration of First Nations people and deaths in custody; and

(e) calls on the Government to:

(i) support Kumanjayi White's family, and note their request for:

(A) the re-establishment of community-control and self-determination in the Northern Territory, and

(B) the reversal of interventionist policies introduced under the NT Intervention and subsequent Stronger Futures legislation 18 years ago;

(ii) ensure there is appropriate support for the impacted family, for sorry business, during the coronial inquest, and necessary legal support,

(iii) continue to work with States and Territories to:

(A) implement recommendations from the 1991 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, and

(B) ensure appropriate conduct of investigations into First Nations deaths in custody and monitor progress of recommendations made to the Government relating to deaths in custody.

I have put forward this motion with the intention of bringing this chamber together on something that is very important to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and it should be very important for this nation. This isn't about politics or pointscoring; it's about compassion. It's about our shared duty as parliamentarians to ensure that justice and dignity are extended to all people on this continent.

On 27 May this year, during Reconciliation Week, 24-year-old Warlpiri man Kumanjayi White died under police restraint in a Coles supermarket. He was a young man with a disability. He was deeply loved. His death was preventable. This motion extends the Senate's deepest sympathies to his family, to the Yuendumu community, to the families of the 17 First Peoples who've died in custody this year and to the families of all those who have died since the 1991 royal commission. These are not just statistics; they are sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, cousins, siblings and grandchildren lost to a system that continues to harm our people.

Ned Hargraves, a senior Warlpiri elder and the grandfather of Kumanjayi White, spoke for many when he said: 'We are devastated by this death. My jaja was vulnerable and needed support, not to be criminalised because of his disability.' Ned has called for answers, respect and justice, not just for his family but for all families still waiting for change and for those who live in fear that their loved ones will be next.

This motion calls on the government to ensure the family is supported over the coming months, with assistance for sorry business, the coronial inquest and legal support. That is the very least we can do. But it also asks this parliament to do something bigger: to work together to end the crisis of deaths in custody and the overincarceration of First Peoples in this country. This is not a partisan issue or one for states and territories alone. It is a national responsibility—a moral one. The Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody in 1991 made clear what needs to be done, yet, decades later, those recommendations remain largely unimplemented and ignored. Meanwhile, families continue to bury their loved ones.

This motion is about committing to practical, overdue action, supported by evidence and backed by First Peoples. It calls for federal leadership that works with states and territories to ensure that every death in custody is properly investigated, that recommendations are tracked and implemented and that families are treated with respect and dignity.

I speak not only as a senator but as someone who has lived through this pain. My cousin Josh Kerr died in custody in 2022. I grow up with his mum, Donnis. She's family to me. She told me about saying, 'I love you,' for the last time while Josh was in shackles, about their last hug and about how the system took him from her, just like it had taken her from her own parents—a cycle of grief that has never been broken. This is our reality.

This motion is about preventing the pain from continuing. It's about doing what we can here and now to ensure that Kumanjayi's death is not just another entry in a long and shameful list. It must be a turning point. I urge all senators and those in the other place to support this motion. Let us stand together. Choose justice and honour. Honour Kumanjayi White's memory by committing to real change.

When I first came into the Senate, I did bring in this message stick with 441 markings to mark 441 deaths in custody. Today we have 602 deaths in custody, after a royal commission. When will this end? This is our message to this parliament: stop killing us. Stop killing us.

Senator WATT (Queensland—Minister for the Environment and Water) (09:07): On behalf of the government I offer my condolences to the family of Kumanjayi White, who died in police custody in Alice Springs on 27 May this year. I acknowledge the distress felt by the community of Yuendumu, who know too well the loss of a young person in police custody. This continues to be a difficult time for many. I know that the Minister for Indigenous Australians, Senator Malarndirri McCarthy, was in contact with the families of Yuendumu immediately after the tragedy. Her deep connection to remote communities in the Territory ensures their voices are carried not just into this chamber but to the cabinet table.

In the two months since the event, we have seen vigils held all over the country. Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians alike have stood together to demand better from all levels of government. In June, the minister took these calls to the Joint Council on Closing the Gap, where First Nations peak organisations and all Australian governments are represented. She's also working closely with the Attorney-General for plans to raise the issue at the Standing Council of Attorneys-General in August.

It is simply unacceptable that 602 First Nations people have died in custody since the 1991 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody. The royal commission was clear that the best way to reduce First Nations deaths in custody is to reduce the high incarceration rate of First Nations people, including through social and economic responses, which the evidence shows can reduce crime, change the course of lives and avoid people coming into contact with the police or justice system in the first place.

This is what the Commonwealth government is focusing on, including through the National Agreement on Closing the Gap. We are investing in First Nations led justice reinvestment initiatives nationally. In the Northern Territory we're already seeing results. On Groote Eylandt there has been a huge decline in offending, with crime rates now at an all-time low. There were 130 offences recorded in the last 12 months, compared to more than 1,000 in 2019. We are supporting the Justice Policy Partnership to bring together all levels of government and peak organisations to improve justice outcomes for First Nations people. We are increasing investment under the National Access to Justice Partnership 2025-30 to ensure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples receive proper legal assistance. We need more action by states and territories to keep First Nations people out of justice systems and ensure they are safe when in custody; this is their responsibility in the federation. The Commonwealth will continue to use forums such as the Standing Council of Attorneys-General and the Police Ministers Council to work on reform.

The Australian government is investing in the areas that we know will help keep Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people out of the justice system, like housing, jobs, education and health. Closing the gap in these key areas, along with economic empowerment, is key to breaking cycles of incarceration and reincarceration. In the Northern Territory, over 220 houses were built in remote communities last year, and 206 houses were built in the previous year. On jobs, we are delivering the Remote Jobs and Economic Development program by creating 3,000 jobs in remote communities. We are training the next generation of First Nations health workers to create jobs, expand access to local services and deliver on our commitment to train 500 First Nations health workers. The Australian government is also doubling its investment in Northern Territory public schools over the next five years, meaning that all Northern Territory schools will be fully and fairly funded by 2029.

These investments are building the foundation that will help prevent people from coming into contact with the justice system in the first place. The government is working to keep people out of the justice system and ensure they are safe when in custody. But, when there are steps backwards, we need to call them out and listen to those calling for change. Minister McCarthy has encouraged the Northern Territory government to carefully review Coroner Armitage's recent report into the death of another young man in Yuendumu and to consider the coroner's recommendations in full. These independent processes are key to identifying and fixing the causes of these unacceptable deaths in custody. Recent deaths in custody have compounded the collective grief and trauma felt by many First Nations families.

Finally, I return to Kumanjayi White, a young man who has tragically died. On behalf of the government, I again extend my deepest condolences to his family and the community of Yuendumu, who have suffered too much.

Senator LIDDLE (South Australia) (09:12): Well, every death, of course, is a tragedy. There is much to explain about how Kumanjayi White became another statistic to be investigated as a death in custody, but that focus is not for us in here. Kumanjayi's grieving family deserve answers. I acknowledge their immense grief. Australians too deserve answers.

The recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, released in 1991, outlined what needed to be done. Indigenous Australians were disproportionately incarcerated, and they were also overrepresented in the numbers of deaths in custody. The royal commission report was a blueprint for change. Change then was necessary. Thirty-four years later, the job is still not done. The Australian Institute of Criminology says there have been 60 deaths in custody so far this year, including 17 of Indigenous people.

In the Northern Territory, legislation and police procedure dictate how deaths in custody are investigated. This includes oversight by the police Professional Standards Command, along with separate police and coronial investigations, and there is potential for further independent inquiry through an ombudsman and/or the NT ICAC.

In June, the Prime Minister said he needed to be convinced that people in Canberra know better than people in the Northern Territory about how to deal with these issues. As is appropriate, I will wait for those processes to conclude, but, in my role as shadow minister for Indigenous Australians, I will reflect on the protective factors—some of which are provided by good policy and programs—that clearly failed Kumanjayi White and, in so many ways, so many others.

Late last night, the most recent Closing the Gap report was publicly released. It is 157 pages of data, statistics and commentary, but behind all of those statistics and all of that data are real people living and struggling with issues that many of us in here don't live every day. The Productivity Commission reports annually on progress to enable Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and governments to work together to achieve life outcomes equality for Indigenous Australians. The terrible truth is that gap is not closing the way that was expected. There are 19 targets, and only four are on track. Another four are going in the wrong direction. The report is yet another sobering reminder of how little progress is being made. It is a picture of missed opportunity, low expectations and tangible failure for delivering results, for which all parliaments and all parties have a responsibility. But the reality is too that it's everyone's responsibility. For every year progress is not made, existing disadvantage is entrenched, suffering is prolonged and confidence in government is undermined. And, worse still, another new generation starts with an even bigger struggle than the previous one.

For the government, four key targets that were already going backwards continue to worsen: adult incarceration, children commencing school developmentally on track, children in out-of-home care and suicide. Law and order, addressing family violence, and hope are central to securing better outcomes. That comes with focus on one of the most important protective factors—family. But family can't do it alone.

When I was shadow minister for child protection and the prevention of family violence, it was clear that addressing violence and the known drivers of it would go a long way towards change. That requires tough decisions in here and by governments. It requires doing things that do good over things that make us feel good. We watched alcohol restrictions in the Northern Territory lapse in 2022, making central Australia less safe for everyone. It was also catastrophic in its impact on all of the social determinants of health. In the month that followed, domestic violence assaults in Alice Springs leapt 77 per cent, leaving lasting consequences for those who live locally. We saw the NAAJA, the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency, in freefall because of poor governments, and, without early intervention, people were left unrepresented. As parliamentarians, a greater focus of our work must be on prevention and early intervention. There is so much focus on justice and incarceration, but, if individuals have come into contact with the justice system, the reality is we've already failed them. When they are captured by the cycle of release and return, then we fail them again. To deliver change, you need to do the hard stuff. That's why the gap is not closing. (Time expired)

Senator WATERS (Queensland—Leader of the Australian Greens) (09:17): The Greens strongly support this motion. On Tuesday 27 May, a 24-year-old Warlpiri man from Yuendumu, Kumanjayi White, died in custody after being restrained by plain-clothes NT police members inside the Coles supermarket in Mparntwe/Alice Springs. He was a young man living with a disability, and he was in town accessing care and services. Our hearts go out to Mr White's family, friends and community. I cannot imagine the grief and loss that they're experiencing at this time. The Australian Greens offer our deepest condolences and wish them the space and the time for grief and mourning. We stand in solidarity with the Yuendumu and Warlpiri communities. We join their calls for justice, and we echo the family's demands for an independent investigation, for the officers involved to be stood down, for the release of CCTV and body camera footage and for the Northern Territory police to apologise for and cease publicly criminalising Kumanjayi White in their statements.

This week, we learned, according to the Australian Institute of Criminology's live dashboard, that there have been 602 First Nations deaths in custody since the royal commission concluded in 1991. It is a shameful indictment on us all that so many of the recommendations from that royal commission remain unfulfilled. This government and this parliament must be leaders who push our states and territories to do more until we implement those recommendations in full and address the structural racism that exists in the justice system.

Kumanjayi White's death occurred as the final coronial report on the 2019 death in custody of another Warlpiri man, Kumanjayi Walker, was due to be published. That inquest exposed deep failures of justice and found the Northern Territory police to be 'an organisation with hallmarks of institutional racism'. In the NT, 84 per cent of incarcerated adults are Aboriginal, despite Aboriginal adults only making up 25.9 per cent of the NT adult population. One hundred per cent of young people imprisoned in the Northern Territory are Aboriginal. Many of those adults and young people are on remand, yet to be convicted. These alarming trends represent a longstanding failure of the justice system to address underlying causes of harm and violence. Funding needs to shift from policing and prisons to community focused solutions led by First Nations people.

The family of Kumanjayi Walker and the Yuendumu community, alongside 23 Aboriginal community family violence and legal organisations, published an open letter earlier this week, calling on the Finocchiaro Northern Territory government to publicly commit to the findings and recommendations of Coroner Armitage in the coronial inquest into the death of Kumanjayi Walker and to engage with First Nations communities and the legal sector. It said, in part:

Aboriginal people have the solutions and now is the time to work with us to ensure that our people thrive and our children grow up safe and supported. Change is not only possible, but also well overdue.

…   …   …

Warlpiri people and all Aboriginal people want lasting change that uplifts our people and ensures a strong, healthy future for generations to come. We do not need to be "fixed" by others—now is the time to genuinely listen, to clear the path for our autonomy, and to provide the resources and support that will enable us to shape our own future. This is what will bring lasting solutions and restore trust. These are not only the right things to do, they are essential steps to prevent needless loss of life and build a better future for all. We are ready to work together for profound, lasting change. We urge you to act now and to act boldly.

The Greens strongly support their calls for an independent and robust mechanism for police accountability in the Northern Territory—and everywhere, frankly—and for greater investment in community-controlled services.

A genuine investment in community rather than policing has never been more urgent, as the NT has reduced the age of criminal responsibility to the age of 10 and they're now shamefully moving to reintroduce spit hoods, which are a recognised form of torture. And we're only on track to meet four of the 19 Closing the Gap targets. It is shameful.

We acknowledge the profound grief and anger felt by Kumanjayi Walker's family, the Warlpiri and Yuendumu communities and First Nations people across the country. We express our sorrow over his death and for the racism, violence and systemic over-incarceration of First Nations people that's led to 602 losses of life. The time to act is now. (Time expired)