Kumanjayi Little Baby

The majority voted against an amendment introduced by Northern Territory Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price (Country Liberal Party), which means it was unsuccessful. The purpose of this amendment was to replace the text of the original amendment introduced by Northern Territory Senator Malarndirri McCarthy (Labor).

Amendment text

Omit all words after "That the Senate" and insert:

(a) mourns the tragic death of 5-year-old Kumanjayi Little Baby;

(b) extends its deepest sympathies to her family, her communities in Mparntwe/Alice Springs, the Warlpiri and Gurindji families of Kalkarindji, and all Australians who grieve her loss;

(c) recognises that this child's death is not an isolated tragedy but a consequence of ongoing community dysfunction that governments have failed to address honestly or effectively;

(d) commends the volunteers, community members, police and emergency service workers who searched tirelessly for Kumanjayi Little Baby, especially the NT Police;

(e) calls on the Federal and Territory Governments to take immediate, concrete action to address the conditions including family violence, inadequate policing resources, and child protection failures that put children at risk in remote communities;

(f) demands that governments be held accountable for delivering measurable outcomes, and that community safety in remote Australia be treated with the same urgency afforded to any other Australian community;

(g) affirms that every child in this country deserves protection regardless of where they live, and that real respect for this community means action and accountability; and

(h) affirms that the safety and wellbeing of Indigenous children must always come first.

Original motion text

That the Senate—

(a) mourns the tragic death of 5-year-old girl Kumanjayi Little Baby;

(b) extends its sympathies to those who loved Kumanjayi Little Baby; to her family, to her communities in Mparntwe/Alice Springs and across Central Australia, to the Warlpiri families, and to the Gurindji families from Kalkarindji;

(c) notes the impact on communities across Australia, and extends condolences to Territorians and to First Nations Australians, for whom this loss is particularly traumatic;

(d) extends its thanks to the hundreds of people who came together in Mparntwe/Alice Springs to search for Kumanjayi Little Baby;

(e) affirms that those remarkable efforts of volunteers, Aboriginal community organisations, police and other emergency service workers demonstrate Australia at its best; and

(f) joins with Kumanjayi Little Baby’s family, First Nations leaders and other community leaders in Mparntwe/Alice Springs to call for calm, for respect, and for the whole community to come together to process the grief during a time of Sorry Business and mourning.