The Prime Minister must take national leadership on Indigenous justice, legal advocates say, as state and territory governments continue to introduce policies which increase the incarceration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Despite commitments under the Closing the Gap agreement, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people now make up 36 per cent of the national prison population. Over the past two years, jurisdictions have passed laws that breach human rights conventions and Royal Commission recommendations — with devastating consequences.
Children as young as ten are being held in adult watch houses, and in tragic cases similar to that of Cleveland Dodd, some have died in custody.
Following two deaths in custody in the Northern Territory in recent weeks — 24-year-old Warlpiri man Kumanjayi White and a 68-year-old Wadeye Elder referred to as TN — the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services (NATSILS) urged the federal government to act.
"The justice system is on the brink and there are more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in prison than ever before," NATSILS chair Karly Warner said.
"This requires national leadership, but our Prime Minister is missing in action."
Ms Warner joined the growing chorus — including Minister for Indigenous Australians Malarndirri McCarthy and Labor MP Marion Scrymgour — calling for an independent investigation into Mr White's death.
"An independent investigation is the absolute minimum that must occur here to ensure that the family get the answers they deserve," Ms Warner said.
"Northern Territorians have been warning the Federal Government that the Territory justice system has been spiralling for years."
The NT Police and Chief Minister have rejected the calls for an independent investigation, with Lia Finocchiaro — who previously described Senator McCarthy's remarks as "uneducated" and "unhelpful" — doubling down on her criticism of the two Labor MPs this week.
"The comments being made by federal members of parliament are quite frankly appalling," Ms Finocchiaro said.
"This is a sad time for the community; our police have an incredibly important job to do, and the politicisation of this issue helps no one. It does not support our police or the Coroner to do their work, or the families who are grieving and communities who want answers."
National Indigenous Time contacted Ms Finocchiaro for clarification on who she means by "no one", as Mr White's family, along with their legal team and several Aboriginal organisations, continue to advocate for an independent inquiry. Her office did not reply.
Unlike the states, the Commonwealth has broad constitutional power to intervene in the Northern Territory. When asked earlier this week if his government would act, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese declined, offering a broad defence of his government's interactions with Indigenous groups.
"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," he said.
"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."
That position sharply contrasted with Ms Scrymgour's comments on Monday where she noted: "Aboriginal people are being completely ostracised and victimised, and people are dying."
According to the Australian Institute of Criminology, at least 597 First Nations people have died in custody since the 1991 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody — 12 of those deaths have occurred in 2025.
NATSILS have outlined a series of urgent demands for the federal government. They include:
- Putting Indigenous incarceration on the National Cabinet agenda.
- Creating a national body for independent investigations into deaths in custody.
- Tying federal funding to transformative justice reforms, not just cultural awareness training.
- Supporting early intervention, diversion, and place-based strategies.
- Incorporating the Convention on the Rights of the Child into domestic law.
- Partnering with NATSILS to provide culturally safe legal services for all First Nations people.
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Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe echoed many of the same demands, calling for an overhaul of the "failing" Closing the Gap framework as she described the PM's obfuscation on the issue a "shameful cop-out".
"Instead of vague targets, the federal government could implement hard consequences when states and territories fail to make progress," she said.
"The federal government could tie state and territory funding to compliance with national standards and international human rights obligations — including OPCAT, the Mandela Rules, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. But [Mr] Albanese refuses to take any responsibility."
First Nations leaders and legal advocates have repeatedly criticised the government for offering "platitudes" instead of action, and for failing to hold jurisdictions accountable under the Closing the Gap agreement.
When Victoria reintroduced strict bail laws — widely condemned by human rights and Indigenous groups — the Prime Minister even publicly supported the move.
Earlier this year, leading barrister Tony McAvoy SC told a Senate inquiry that only Commonwealth intervention could reverse the trend.
"Unless there is some commonwealth action, this will continue to be the case. It is not a question of if the commonwealth should act, but what it should do," he said.
Ms Warner pointed to the "very heartfelt, powerful words" in the Prime Minister's victory speech last month, where he promised to be a leader for reconciliation.
"But, when 36 per cent of the prison population is Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, we have to ask, how is it that the Federal Government can achieve this vision without urgent and meaningful action to change the justice system?"
