WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised the following article contains the name and image of an Indigenous person who has died.
Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price and Opposition Leader Angus Taylor have met with the family of Kumanjayi Little Baby, renewing calls for an audit of Indigenous spending and services following the five-year-old's death.
The death of Kumanjayi Little Baby, as she is now referred to for cultural reasons, shocked Mparntwe/Alice Springs and the nation after she disappeared from her home at Old Timers Town Camp on Anzac Day.
Her body was found five days later.
Jefferson Lewis, 47, has been charged with her murder and two other offences, which cannot be named for legal reasons.
Speaking to reporters, Senator Nampijinpa Price, who is an aunt of Kumanjayi Little Baby, said in the wake of the tragedy, the family wanted "better conditions" in the town camps and "justice for this situation".
"They want to prevent this from happening again, these circumstances," she said.
"This is what her family wants, this is what her grandmother wants. They want to be able to be in a town camp and feel safe."
The tragedy sparked renewed debate about living conditions and service delivery in the sixteen town camps sit on the outskirts of Mparntwe/Alice Springs.
Established between the 1950s and 1970s, when discriminatory government policies prevented Aboriginal people from living within the town itself, they are home to almost 1,000 residents.
The Indigenous-run Tangentyere Council, which is responsible for night patrols and home repairs in the town camps, has come under increased scrutiny since Kumanjayi Little Baby's death.
Images and footage highlighting conditions in some camps have prompted questions about whether funding is being used effectively to improve residents' lives.
Making money in the communities, outside of government funding, is considered difficult, and the last census showed each household averaged four people with a collective median income of $757 each week.
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Senator Nampijinpa Price, who joined Mr Taylor in laying flowers at a memorial for Kumanjayi Little Baby at Old Timers Town Camp, said community members had been asking "where the money is going in terms of the funding".
"What we want to see is that this money is producing outcomes," she said.
"It's important to start with an audit process, to determine...whether that money that is being delivered is providing the outcomes that [are] being expected."
A complex system of subleasing and housing management agreements involving local groups and the federal and Northern Territory governments make it difficult for meaningful economic gains to be made by communities, a Senate estimates committee was told last month.
Executive director of township leasing Pennie Weadon said her team had made repeated recommendations to the Northern Territory government for better economic opportunities in the camps.
Mr Taylor said the death of Kumanjayi Little Baby had "devastated a family, shocked a community and angered Australians across the country".
"She will never be forgotten," he wrote on social media.
He said Australia could not "look away from the circumstances" surrounding the tragedy and argued serious questions needed to be asked about how it occurred and what reforms were required.
"We desperately need to take practical action to improve the safety of women and children, strengthen communities, reduce access to alcohol and crime, and ensure taxpayer funding into town camps and communities is doing what it is intended to," Mr Taylor said.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Minister for Indigenous Australians Malarndirri McCarthy and Lingiari MP Marion Scrymgour met with Kumanjayi Little Baby's family last month.
The Prime Minister said all levels of government needed to work together to deliver systemic improvements in Indigenous communities, while stressing that "Indigenous people need to be treated with respect at this time, particularly the family and local people".
The Federal Government says it has made significant investments in Central Australia, including funding for community safety initiatives, women's and youth services, and community patrols.
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