An Aboriginal woman in Darwin was allegedly murdered by her partner nine hours after police were "too busy" to conduct a welfare check on her.
The Australian reports her 57-year-old partner Desmond Frankie Booth was charged with murdering the 43-year-old woman, as well as breaching a domestic violence order.
Territory Families had requested a welfare check for the woman nine hours before her death, but police were allegedly "too busy" to attend due to a number of higher priority incidents.
The paper reported Mr Booth had been barred from contacting the woman for two decades.
It was reported that while police had initially said they received no calls from neighbours in relation to the incident until after the alleged murder had taken place, a police spokesperson later revealed at least one report had been made the previous afternoon.
There was also no mention of the referral by Territory Families by Detective Senior Sergeant Jon Beer in the initial press conference.
The Australian reports one police officer had contacted the paper arguing: "You don't want to think modern Australia is racist, but to speak plainly, if this was a white woman on the east coast, or a white offender anywhere, those at the top would be held accountable."
Mr Booth was remanded in custody after facing court on Thursday and NT News reported he expected to return on October 16 for a preliminary examination mention.
The alleged murder occurred only a week after a Senate report into murdered and missing Aboriginal women and children was critical of some police actions.
It recommended the Attorney-General tasks the Police Ministers Council to "conduct a review of existing police practices in each jurisdiction, consider the learnings from each jurisdiction and aim to implement and harmonise best police practices across Australia".
At least 315 First Nations women have been murdered or died in suspicious circumstances since 2000, and the inquiry received 87 submissions and held hearings across five states and territories.
