Despite growing public outcry, the Prime Minister has ruled out convening a national cabinet meeting to address the alarming number of Indigenous deaths in custody.
Speaking on ABC Breakfast, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese responded to questions following the recent deaths of several First Nations people, which have sparked national protests and renewed scrutiny of the justice system.
Among the 13 Indigenous people to have died in custody so far this year are 24-year-old Kumanjayi White, 68-year-old Wadeye Elder TN, and New South Wales man Wayne Green.
Mr White, a Warlpiri man with connections to the Yuendumu community, died in Mparntwe/Alice Springs in May after being restrained by two plain-clothed Northern Territory Police officers. At the time, he was living in supported accommodation and under state guardianship.
His death triggered protests across major cities , including Naarm/Melbourne, Sydney, Magandjin/Brisbane, Darwin, Boorloo/Perth, Wollongong, and Mparntwe/Alice Springs. Demonstrators have called for an independent investigation — a request that has so far been rejected by both NT Police and Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro.
Despite acknowledging the recent deaths are an "incredible tragedy," Mr Albanese said on Tuesday he would not convene a national cabinet meeting on the issue.
He argued that while inquiries and commissions have been conducted, it is coordinated action — not more meetings — that is needed.
"A meeting doesn't result in concrete action necessarily," Mr Albanese said. "What we need is concrete action."
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The Prime Minister said he is well aware of the ongoing crisis — with at least 598 Indigenous deaths in custody since the 1991 Royal Commission — and raises the issue regularly with state and territory leaders.
"All governments have not done well enough when it comes to Indigenous affairs, and one of the areas where there is a gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous outcomes for Australians is in this area. Right across the board we need to do better," he said.
Last month, Mr White's grandfather, Warlpiri Elder Ned Jampijinpa Hargraves, wrote an open letter to the Prime Minister, urging federal intervention in what he described as "madness" in the NT justice system.
"Your government in Canberra has total power over the NT," he wrote. "The prisons are so full they need private security guards; guards on buses and public housing officers are being given guns — this madness must stop."
Mr Hargraves called for an independent investigation and urged the Commonwealth to withhold funding to the NT government until such an inquiry is agreed to.
"You used this power to take away all our rights, our jobs and our assets with the NT Intervention 18 years ago today," he wrote.
"Now we demand action from Canberra to see that our rights are restored and we are protected from the racist Country Liberal Party government."
All seven Commissioners of the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) also called for sweeping reforms.
"Our people are dying in a system that has failed them from the beginning. The need for transformational reform is undeniable," Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner Katie Kiss said last month.
"Without an evidence and human rights-based approach to justice and corrections, the massive over-representation of our peoples in custody — and dying in custody — will remain a national shame. Enough is enough."
Despite ongoing pressure from Mr White's family, legal advocates, Indigenous leaders, and the Minister for Indigenous Australians, the federal government has refused to intervene in the investigation.
"I need to be convinced that people in Canberra know better than people in the Northern Territory about how to deal with these issues, is my starting point," Mr Albanese told reporters last month.
"I think it comes out all the time with a range of issues. But we do need to engage directly and constructively with First Nations people."
In response, Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe called the Prime Minister's comments a "cop-out" and a "shameful abdication of responsibility".
"We saw that during COVID," she said. "This is a life or death issue. What's missing is the political will."
Ms Thope reiterated the need for an independent oversight body to investigate Mr White's death — a recommendation of the 1991 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody.
"This should be made up of legal and human rights experts, Aboriginal leaders, and community members," she said.
"There are working models overseas. The Yoorrook Commission highlighted the Northern Ireland model as a strong example.
"First and foremost, he should meet with the family, listen to them and respect their wishes."
