The tragic death of the five-year-old, now referred to as Kumanjayi Little Baby at her family’s request, is absolutely heartbreaking.
The circumstances in which she lived before she was allegedly led away by her accused murderer Jefferson Lewis were tragic and disturbing.
And the wild scenes which erupted in Alice Springs after Mr Lewis allegedly presented himself to the community following the discovery of the body of Kumanjayi Little Baby were nothing short of anarchic.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.Kumanjayi Little Baby, a 5-year-old girl, was murdered in a remote town in central Australia. Credit: NT Police
The tragedy has confirmed there are deep problems in what are known as town camps.
Kumanjayi Little Baby was reported missing from Old Timers Camp in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Police alleged Mr Lewis, who was staying at the town camp, had led the little girl away.
He had been released from prison six days before Kumanjayi Little Baby vanished.
Northern Territory Police Commissioner Martin Dole said Mr Lewis had suffered a “sustained attack” and was unconscious when police arrived to arrest him at a town camp late on Thursday night.
Police and ambulance officers were set upon at the scene and after they took Mr Lewis to Alice Springs Hospital a full scale riot erupted as the crowd tried to get to Mr Lewis before he was flown to Darwin.
Police and emergency services personnel were injured and vehicles damaged. “It really descended into absolute anarchy,” Mr Dole said.
The area around Old Timers’ Camp. Credit: Northern Territory Police/Supplied
Pictures taken at Old Timers Camp as the search had unfolded showed the house in which she had been put to bed on a mattress on the floor before her disappearance was no place for an innocent five-year-old.
Among those to express concern at the episode was Northern Territory Country Liberal Party Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price — an aunt to Kumanjayi Little Baby.
In a newspaper opinion piece Senator Price wrote that alongside the community’s grief “sits a question that cannot be ignored. How did this happen?”
“It is a question that demands honesty. For too long, there has been a reluctance to speak plainly about the conditions in and around town camps,” Senator Price wrote. “Too many have become environments where safety is not guaranteed, particularly for children.”
Billions of dollars flowed through Indigenous organisations, land councils and local governance structures but too often difficult conversations were avoided.
“An independent inquiry must now be on the table,” Senator Price wrote.
“Not only into the circumstances surrounding this case, but into the broader conditions that allow such vulnerability to persist.”
On Friday morning Minister for Indigenous Australians Malarndirri McCarthy was asked whether the moment had arrived to speak about the camps. She said it was “not that time”.
But we have a different view about taking an honest look at the problem.
