Latest news with #AboriginalDeaths
ABC News
35 minutes ago
- Politics
- ABC News
Labor MP Marion Scrymgour calls for leadership over black deaths in custody
Northern Territory MP Marion Scrymgour has slammed the federal government and previous governments for "taking their eye off the ball" regarding Aboriginal deaths in custody. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains the name of an Indigenous person who has died, used with the permission of their family. Ms Scrymgour told ABC News Breakfast on Monday that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese should consider addressing the issue, after Warlpiri man Kumanjayi White, 24, died after being restrained by NT Police officers on the floor of the Alice Springs Coles supermarket on May 27. "Aboriginal people are being completely ostracised and victimised, and people are dying," she told News Breakfast host Bridget Brennan. "The federal government I think needs to show the leadership." Mr White's grandfather, Ned Jampijinpa Hargraves, also spoke on News Breakfast, outlining what he would like to see from police and the government after his grandson's death. Ms Scrymgour called for a review and audit of the recommendations from the 1991 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, some of which are still outstanding decades later. Since the royal commission there have been about 597 First Nations deaths in custody, according to the Australian Institute of Criminology. "The federal government needs to have a look at all of those recommendations and certainly, as the federal member, I'll be talking to Minister Malarndirri McCarthy, the new Attorney-General Michelle Rowland and also [Home Affairs Minister] Tony Burke to have a look at where are we at with this," Ms Scrymgour said. Ms Scrymgour pointed to the 2018 Review of the implementation of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, which found the 339 recommendations from the 1991 royal commission had not been completely implemented. A separate 2021 review by the Australian National University assessed that 78 per cent of recommendations had been fully or mostly implemented. "For the federal government, there needs to be an immediate review or have a look at where all of those recommendations are and to proceed accordingly," Ms Scrymgour said. "Our people are dying prematurely and that needs to be looked at." Mr White's family, along with several MPs, advocacy groups and the Central Land Council, have continued to call for NT Police to hand the criminal investigation over to a separate body. Thousands of protesters across the country supported those calls at the weekend. Mr White's family is also calling for the police officers involved in apprehending Mr White to be stood down while the investigation happens, and for all CCTV and body camera footage to be released to the family. NT Police has said two officers, who were not wearing uniforms, detained Mr White after an alleged altercation with a security guard who had accused him of shoplifting. NT Police Assistant Commissioner Travis Wurst has denied the family's request to hand the investigation over to an independent body. He said he would lead the investigation and provide oversight along with NT Police's Professional Standards Command, pledging it would be "objective, professional and transparent". "Detectives have collected a considerable amount of evidence and the public can be assured that a full and thorough investigative report will be prepared for the coroner," he said. Warlpiri elder and Mr White's grandfather, Ned Jampijinpa Hargraves, told ABC News Breakfast on Monday he wanted to hear a meaningful apology from the NT Police. "You want to say sorry? You take the belt off, take your guns off," he told ABC News Breakfast. "We are devastated, we cannot keep living like this. "I would say this [to the police]: 'Get off our back … get off our back." Ms Scrymgour, who has called for the investigation into Mr White's death to be handled by the Australian Federal Police, said an independent investigation would help Aboriginal people feel confident with the process "without fear or favour".
RNZ News
a day ago
- Politics
- RNZ News
Hundreds rally in Brisbane, Sydney over deaths in police custody
By Molly Slattery and Carly Williams , ABC Photo: ABC News/Molly Slattery Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains the name of an Indigenous person who has died, used with the permission of their family. Protesters have gathered in Brisbane's King George Square and Sydney's CBD to "demand justice" over the death of 24-year-old Kumanjayi White, who died in police custody in the Northern Territory last month. White died last Tuesday after he was restrained on the floor of a Coles supermarket in Alice Springs. Police have said two off-duty officers detained him after an alleged altercation with a security guard who accused him of shoplifting. Organiser Sam Watson. Photo: ABC News/Molly Slattery Brisbane rally organiser Sam Watson expressed anger that White's death came more than three decades after the royal commission into Aboriginal deaths in custody . "These deaths are happening all over the country, and they have been for the 30 years since the royal commission," he said. The statements were met with shouts of "shame" from the crowd gathered. Raelene Nixon, whose 27-year-old son Steven Lee Nixon-McKeller died in police custody in Toowoomba in 2021, joined protesters. "I feel my spirit ache from the injustice of it all," she said. "We do this not for those we've lost but for those who are to come; we have a responsibility to our future generations. "One third of the deaths in custody have been Aboriginal people, but we make up just three percent of the population. "When we ask for justice, they give us silence and more violence." Raelene Nixon's son died while in police custody in Toowoomba in 2021. Photo: ABC News/Molly Slattery Wakka Wakka man and South Sea Islander Kevin Yow Yeh called for more community support from the crowds gathered. "Solidarity means action; you've come here today but there's so much more we need to do," he said. "This story is unfortunately not a unique one. "This is our opportunity to mobilise and active, do something, because they're killing us." Kevin Yow Yeh says action must be taken. Photo: ABC News/Molly Slattery In Sydney, the rally started with people gathering on the steps of Town Hall. ACT Commissioner for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People Vanessa Turnbull Roberts spoke first, before Aboriginal man Alistair Flanders officially opened the event with a traditional smoking ceremony, inviting protesters to the front to take in the smoke. The rally in Sydney was started with a traditional smoking ceremony. Photo: ABC News/Carly Williams Lawyer George Newhouse, who is representing White's family, spoke to the crowd on behalf of Warlpiri people. "I've just come back from Alice Springs and Yuendumu, I'm angry there are mothers grieving there tonight," he said. "I am angry there was a disabled young man calling out for his mother in Coles last week." The Sydney rally took place at Town Hall. Photo: ABC News/Carly Williams Newhouse read a statement from the family stating that White was deeply missed and loved. He added that White's family had a deep mistrust of the NT Police and wanted an independent investigation, saying the family was asking for the officers involved to be stood down while the investigation took place. Dunghutti man and Sydney rally organiser Paul Silva urged the crowd to "stand up and take a stand with First Nations people". "We're going to scrutinise the system, scrutinise the government, stand with the Yuendumu community until they can find justice and accountability," he said. Protesters made their way down George Street to the Surry Hills Police Station after the speeches. Photo: ABC News/Carly Williams "This won't be the first action happening here within Sydney and around the nation." Malyangapa Barkindji rapper Barkaa performed live before the crowd made its way down George Street to the Surry Hills Police Station. They follow rallies held across the nation, including in Alice Springs, on Friday. - ABC
ABC News
2 days ago
- ABC News
Hundreds gather in Brisbane over deaths in police custody, Sydney rally expected
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains the name of an Indigenous person who has died, used with the permission of their family. Hundreds of protesters gathered in Brisbane's King George Square to "demand justice" over the death of 24-year-old Kumanjayi White, who died in police custody in the Northern Territory last month. Mr White died last Tuesday after he was restrained on the floor of a Coles supermarket in Alice Springs. Police have said two off-duty officers detained him after an alleged altercation with a security guard who accused him of shoplifting. Organiser Sam Watson expressed anger that Mr White's death comes more than three decades after the royal commission into Aboriginal deaths in custody. "These deaths are happening all over the country, and they have been for the 30 years since the royal commission," he said. The statements were met with shouts of "shame" from the crowd gathered. Raelene Nixon, whose 27-year-old son Steven Lee Nixon-McKeller died in police custody in Toowoomba in 2021, joined protesters. "We do this not for those we've lost but for those who are to come; we have a responsibility to our future generations. "One third of the deaths in custody have been Aboriginal people but we make up just three per cent of the population. "When we ask for justice, they give us silence and more violence." Wakka Wakka man and South Sea Islander Kevin Yow Yeh called for more community support from the crowds gathered. "Solidarity means action; you've come here today but there's so much more we need to do," he said. "This story is unfortunately not a unique one. "This is our opportunity to mobilise and active, do something, because they're killing us." Another rally is expected to be held in Sydney this evening. They follow rallies held across the nation, including in Alice Springs, yesterday.
News.com.au
28-05-2025
- General
- News.com.au
Major Crime Squad investigate the death of an Aboriginal man in custody following a shoplifting incident at Coles Alice Springs
Senator Lidia Thorpe has demanded answers after a 24-year old Aboriginal man, who lived with a disability under state guardianship, died in custody after a shoplifting incident at Coles in Alice Springs. Police allege the man was 'placing items down the front of (his) clothing' before he was confronted by security guards about 1.10pm on Tuesday. He was allegedly involved in an altercation with security when two police officers arrived and restrained him. Assistant Commissioner Travis Wurst told media one of the security guards was assaulted, and two police officers who were in plain clothes at the time in the supermarket rendered assistance to the security guards. 'The male behaved rather aggressively and was placed onto the ground by those police officers, he was later identified as losing consciousness,' he said. Police said in a statement the man stopped breathing and officers performed CPR until paramedics arrived. He was rushed to the Alice Springs Hospital where he was pronounced dead shortly after 2.20pm. Major Crime Squad detectives travelled to Alice Springs to investigate the man's death and police will prepare a report for the Coroner. The assistant commissioner told ABC Alice Springs the man, known to police, was living in Alice Springs but had come from a remote community in Central Australia. He said the man's family had been contacted by police. There have been 593 Aboriginal deaths in custody since the Royal Commission handed down its report in 1991. Senator Thorpe said this was not an isolated tragedy but a brutal pattern where Aboriginal people died at the hands of authorities. 'For decades, our people have called for an end to this violence — for justice, accountability, and care instead of cruelty. But still, our voices are ignored,' she said. The senator said the 24-year old man lived with a disability and was hungry and needed care when the incident took place. 'My heart is with Warlpiri mob, the Yuendumu community, and all those grieving the shocking death in custody of a young Aboriginal man in Mparntwe yesterday, who died while being restrained by police inside a supermarket,' she said.
