Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe has called for all recommendations from the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody to be implemented, as pressure mounts for an independent investigation into the death of Kumanjayi White.
Mr White, a 24-year-old Warlpiri man, who was living in supported accommodation and under state guardianship at the time, died last week in Mparntwe/Alice Springs after being restrained by two plain-clothed NT Police officers.
His death has sparked national vigils — already held in Mparntwe, Darwin, and Sydney — with more planned across the country this weekend. The case has reignited concerns over the treatment of First Nations people by police, as well as the broader criminalisation of disability.
Speaking to the ABC on Thursday, Senator Thorpe said the 1991 Royal Commission's recommendations must finally be implemented.
"It is very clear that we have had so many deaths in custody — almost 600 deaths in custody — and nobody ever is held accountable for any of those deaths," the Gunnai, Gunditjmara and Djab Wurrung woman said.
"We know that the federal government calls together the state and territories when they so choose, and we see that with vaping, we saw that with kids on social media, we saw it with COVID. Why can't we call the state and territories together on stopping Aboriginal deaths in custody?"
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Senator Thorpe, whose bill to align Australian laws with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was rejected by the Senate earlier this year, also stressed any investigation into Mr White's death must be independent of police.
Asked what action the federal government should take, she argued they "need to take very seriously what the family and community are calling for — and that is an independent investigation, rather than cops investigating cops".
The Victorian Senator added there must be independence and accountability when it comes to "these police killings".
"And that's basically what they are," she said. "It's another member of the Yundemu community that have lost their lives at the hands of the police.
"It just cannot continue. Our families [and] our communities are reeling in the trauma every time we lose somebody in our communities — it's just got to stop."
The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services (NATSILS) echoed her call on Friday, joining the family and a growing number of organisations demanding an independent investigation and arguing it is "not appropriate for the NT Police" to investigate itself.
NATSILS chair Karly Warner said the NT Government must act immediately to initiate an independent inquiry into Mr White's death and release the CCTV footage to his family — both of which have been refused by the NT Police and the CLP government.
"At a minimum, the investigation should be conducted by the Australian Federal Police or police from another jurisdiction," Ms Warner said.
"Moreover, it is clear that the NT has failed to overhaul the culture of its police force despite promises made just last year.
"We call for the Federal Government to step in to overhaul the current chaos of the Northern Territory justice system and ensure that key federal funding requirements are tied to transformative systems change, and not just cultural awareness training for police."
Acting NT Police Commissioner Martin Dole has defended the internal investigation, claiming an external process could interfere with "further action being taken". However, other states frequently handle such cases through independent bodies, such as NSW's Law Enforcement Conduct Commission.
NT Chief Minister and Police Minister Lia Finocchiaro has also categorically ruled out an independent investigation and voiced full confidence in the NT Police — despite longstanding allegations of racism and over-policing of Aboriginal people in the Territory.
As reported by National Indigenous Times on Tuesday, none of the officers involved in Mr White's arrest have been stood down, more than a week after his death.
Mr White's grandfather, Warlpiri Elder Ned Jampijinpa Hargraves, told the ABC on Tuesday the family was "very, very angry" with the police response.
"When we met at the police station with the coroner and with the commissioner [it was] the same story that we hear every day every time, that this has happened and the police did their job," he said.
"We are sick of it and we are losing lots of our loved ones … we want to get the police to be accountable because it just keeps going."
Ms Warner said the fact that NT Police were leading both the criminal and coronial investigations into the incident presented a "clear conflict of interest".
"When a person dies while being restrained by police officers, fundamental questions need to be answered about police discretion, operating procedures, and practices," she said.
"An independent investigation is the minimum that is required for families and communities to have confidence that investigations into deaths in custody will deliver the answers that they deserve."
