NT votes down federal oversight into First Nations deaths in police custody

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Emotions ran high in the Northern Territory parliament today, with the government voting down a motion calling for independent federal oversight into the deaths of First Nations people in police custody. It came after a rare public statement from the NSW coroner, expressed distress over the state's record high levels of Aboriginal deaths in custody.

Transcript

00:00A scene all too familiar nationwide.

00:06Walperee man Kuminjaya White died in May after being restrained by plainclothes police officers

00:12in an Alice Springs supermarket.

00:14His death, one of 609 Indigenous deaths in custody since a landmark 1991 Royal Commission.

00:21Aboriginal people right now is not just unsafe, but very, very confused.

00:29It's an issue not isolated to the NT, with New South Wales recording 12 Aboriginal deaths

00:35in custody so far in 2025, the most in that state for a single year on record.

00:41It's a problem across Australia and this is an opportunity for our government to show

00:45leadership in this across Australia and say we understand this problem.

00:50Independent Justine Davis moving a motion today in NT Parliament calling on the Commonwealth

00:55to establish a national independent body with the power to investigate all Aboriginal deaths

01:00in custody.

01:01Police investigating police is never going to result in an outcome that delivers trust

01:06to a community.

01:07We need to do something different.

01:09Deputy Chief Minister Gerard Maley taking offence.

01:12My father was a police officer.

01:14How dare you say he's not trustworthy?

01:15The motion moved just weeks after NT Police handed evidence to the Director of Public Prosecutions

01:22following its investigation into Kuminjai White's death, a decision on whether charges will

01:28be laid yet to be made.

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