There's growing pressure on the federal government to step in and hold an independent inquiry into the death in custody of 24-year-old Kumanjayi White in Alice Springs. Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe has called the situation a national crisis.
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00:00It's just ongoing trauma and pain and loss and fear.
00:09With so many deaths in custody, almost 600 deaths in custody that we know of, it's a
00:16question in everyone's mind of when will this end?
00:21When will this ongoing trauma and pain and loss end for our people?
00:29It puts fear into parents, particularly about their kids, their boys growing up, and that
00:37there's no support for these families, that they're just reeling in loss and pain.
00:46My office is constantly working with families and other supporters to ensure that we provide
00:54as much support to those families as we can.
00:59It's hard as an independent office with only myself and a small team, but no-one else is
01:05doing it and that's part of the problem.
01:08We can't trust the police when there is no justice.
01:13There is no peace.
01:15And we know that, particularly through the Koemanje inquiry and what the coroner's investigation
01:22going on there, that the Northern Territory Police have been found to be racist.
01:28So how can we trust police when they're known racists to do the right thing by our people?
01:37So there's a real distrust out there and we need to get that trust back into our communities
01:43through federal leadership.
01:45There's been no oversight of the 339 recommendations at the federal level since the demise of ATSIC,
01:53and that was 20 years ago.
01:55I've been talking to the Social Justice Commissioner to see if they could take on the responsibility.
02:01They've agreed to that, but the federal government have not provided the resources that go with
02:06that.
02:07The government, particularly the Minister for Indigenous Affairs, always handballs the responsibility
02:14to state and territory governments.
02:18Therefore, bring them together and have a look at what recommendations may have been implemented
02:26and what's left.
02:27We know that hanging points is one that's not being looked at, and we know that there are
02:34preventable deaths in custody that just should not be happening.
02:39So a federal caucus, if you like, of bringing those states and territories together to all
02:46take responsibility for this national crisis, because that's what it is.
02:51The federal government can bring people together, the states and territories on vaping, getting
02:56kids off social media, COVID-19.
03:00So why not deaths in custody when it is increasing in numbers and, you know, they can't even close
03:08the gap in this area because incarceration rates are going through the roof.