Federal Opposition Leader Angus Taylor has met with family of Kumanjayi Little Baby, the five-year-old girl who was allegedly abducted and murdered in April, during a trip to Alice Springs.
Note: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains the image of an Indigenous person who has died, used with the permission of their family.
Mr Taylor spent yesterday and today in the Northern Territory town accompanied by shadow small business minister and NT Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, who is an aunt of the little girl.
The pair also laid flowers at a memorial at Old Timers town camp, the small Aboriginal community in Alice Springs where Kumanjayi Little Baby was allegedly abducted from.
“What we saw with Kumanjayi Little Baby was deeply tragic,” Mr Taylor said.
Angus Taylor says he was able to speak with Kumanjayi Little Baby’s grandmother while in Alice Springs. (ABC News: Xavier Martin)
“I was very privileged to speak with her grandmother, and it was truly heart-rending.”
A 47-year-old man, Jefferson Lewis, has been arrested and charged with the little girl’s murder and two other offences which cannot be cited for legal reasons.
When asked what the family hoped would come out of the tragedy, Ms Nampijinpa Price said they wanted “better conditions in town camps, they want 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.”
There are 16 town camps on the outskirts of Alice Springs — small Aboriginal communities set up between the 1950s and 1970s due to discriminatory policies at the time preventing Aboriginal people from settling in the Alice Springs township.
The opposition leader’s visit to Central Australia follows a trip to the region by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in late May, when he met with Kumanjayi Little Baby’s mother and grandfather, alongside federal Indigenous Australians Minister Malarndirri McCarthy.
Five-year-old Kumanjayi Little Baby went missing from the Old Timers town camp in Alice Springs in April. (Supplied: NT Police)
Deeper audits wanted on Indigenous funding
At a press conference, Mr Taylor questioned whether more than $350 million in federal funds committed to Central Australia since 2023 was delivering visible improvements on the ground.
“There’s a lot of money and it’s hard to see the evidence of where some of the benefits are flowing,” he said.
“Too much of it is getting lost. Too much of it is getting lost and that must change.“
Ms Nampijinpa Price renewed her calls for an audit of Indigenous spending and services, referencing Aboriginal-run organisation Tangentyere Council, which is responsible for services such as night patrols in Alice Springs town camps as well as home repairs.
“The question has been asked consistently by community members, by so many people involved, where the money is going in terms of the funding that’s available to an organisation like Tangentyere Council,” she said.
“What we want to see is that this money is producing outcomes.
“So, it’s important to start with an audit process, to determine as to whether that money that is being delivered is providing the outcomes that [are] being expected.”
In May, Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price delivered an emotional Senate speech addressing her niece’s death.
Living conditions in Alice Springs’ town camps, and perceived shortfalls in how they are being run, have faced national attention in the fallout from Kumanjayi Little Baby’s death.
In a statement, a federal government spokesperson said: “The Albanese Labor government has made significant investments in Central Australia in key areas of community safety, women and youth services, community patrols”.
“Investments like this reflect the Albanese Government’s commitment to working with communities, listening to their needs and delivering practical support that makes a real difference in people’s lives,” they said.
The spokesperson pointed to investments including $18 million to improve boarding facilities in Alice Springs, $50 million for remote community infrastructure, $4.9 million for emergency accommodation and $5 million for a health hub.
