Statement on the Missing and Murdered First Nations Women and Children Inquiry Report

I rise to table the Government Response to the Inquiry Report into Missing and Murdered First Nations Women and Children, by the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee.

In 2018, Kumarn Rubuntja travelled to Canberra from her tiny community of Antepe Camp, near Alice Springs.

She was among a group of women who came to Parliament House, to speak out about the murders of First Nations women.

I met with Ms Rubuntja, along with my friend and colleague Linda Burney, the-then Minister for Indigenous Australians.

Ms Rubuntja – had never been to Canberra before – but that didn’t stop her speaking out for victims of family, domestic and sexual violence.

Her message – stop the violence.

Three years later Ms Rubuntja was murdered by her partner.

She was repeatedly and deliberately run over.

Today, the Northern Territory Coroner has handed down her findings from an inquest into Ms Rubuntja’s murder and the violent deaths of three other women.

Kumanjayi Haywood, Ngeygo Ragurrk and Miss Yunupingu.

When Coroner Elisabeth Armitage opened her inquiry in June last year, she rightly told the court – “This is not somebody else’s horror. This is our horror.”

She went on to say, “As a society and as a community we are together responsible for finding a better way.”

Coroner Armitage is right. 

Together we are responsible. 

First Nations women experience disproportionately high levels of violence. 

Nationally, First Nations women are seven times more likely to be homicide victims, and of those women, 75% are killed by a current or former partner.

First Nations women are 33 times more likely to be hospitalised due to family and domestic violence than non-Indigenous women.

First Nations women in the Northern Territory experience the highest rates of gender-based violence in the country.

Since June this year, 8 First Nations women and a sister girl have been killed in the Territory. 

These women are not just numbers and statistics. 

They were daughters, sisters, mothers, aunties, grandmothers, matriarchs of our communities.

Yet outside of the Northern Territory, there was little or no media coverage of their violent deaths.

As Minister for Indigenous Australians, I wish to acknowledge all First Nations women and children whose lives have been cut short through horrific acts of violence, and those who are missing. 

As a Yanyuwa Garrwa woman, I acknowledge the women and children currently at risk, living in fear and needing protection. 

I acknowledge the brave survivors of family, domestic and sexual violence who made submissions to and appeared before the Inquiry.

And I acknowledge the trauma, grief and pain of family members who made submissions and spoke on behalf of loved ones murdered or disappeared.

I wish to thank all Committee members for their important work with this Inquiry, in particular chair, Senator Paul Scarr and Deputy Chair, Senator Nita Green.

I thank Committee members for their considered and sensitive approach while conducting their hearings. 

I would like to recognise Senator Dorinda Cox for her work calling for the establishment of this Inquiry, and her campaigning and efforts in this important space.

I also wish to acknowledge my friend and predecessor as Minister for Indigenous Australians, Linda Burney, who advocated for such an Inquiry in Opposition.

The findings and recommendations of this important Inquiry will now inform a range of work currently underway to address the appalling rates of violence against First Nations women and children. 

This includes informing the standalone National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Family Safety Plan being launched next year, which will be led by First Nations people and provide direction for future policy approaches. 

Gender-based violence is a national shame.

The Commonwealth Government alone cannot solve these issues. 

Addressing the horrific rates of murdered and disappeared First Nations women and children requires a concerted effort, involving all governments and communities.

States and territories have primary responsibility for law enforcement, including policing and justice system responses to family, domestic and sexual violence. 

In May, the Prime Minister convened a National Cabinet with state and territory leaders on gender-based violence and commissioned a Rapid Review into Prevention Approaches.

On 6 September this year, the Commonwealth, States and Territories through National Cabinet, agreed to maintain a central focus on missing and murdered First Nations women and children.

National Cabinet also agreed that all government commitments on gender-based violence must explicitly consider the needs and experiences of First Nations people and be delivered in genuine partnership with First Nations communities.

The comprehensive package of $4.4 billion in new Commonwealth funding announced on 6 September delivers much needed support for frontline specialist and legal services to:

• respond to gender-based violence. 
• better identify and respond to high-risk perpetrators, to stop violence escalating. 
• and address the role that systems and harmful industries play in exacerbating violence.

This investment includes $3.9 billion for the National Access to Justice Partnership, which provides ongoing funding to the legal assistance sector, including the Family Violence Prevention Legal Services.

$85 million was also announced to respond to high-risk perpetrators to prevent homicide and keep women safe. 

This includes funding for trials of innovative models to prevent intimate partner violence and homicide, including a Tasmanian behaviour change program for perpetrators who are the subject of a Family Violence Order.

A further $80 million boost in funding will enhance and expand child-centric trauma-informed supports, with a specific focus on First Nations children and young people.

That funding will prioritise the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community-Controlled Sector, in line with the National Agreement on Closing the Gap.

The Albanese Government is leading a range of important initiatives to respond to gender-based violence, particularly through the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022-32 and the National Agreement on Closing the Gap.

Last year, the Government also released the first ever Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Action Plan that underpins the National Plan. 

This is supported by $194 million to fund specific actions and support the safety of First Nations women and children.

The National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children sets the policy agenda for addressing violence against women and children for the next decade. 

Through the National Plan, the Commonwealth, state and territory governments have collectively committed to ending gender-based violence in one generation. 

From next year, the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Family Safety Plan will stand alongside the National Plan, led by First Nations people. 

We have committed to establishing a National Commissioner for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People to protect and advance the wellbeing of First Nations children across a range of issues. 

Applications have now closed for the role, and the Commissioner will start their important work in January next year.

Strong and safe First Nations families are a key focus of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap.

Through that Agreement, all governments have committed to reducing the rate of family violence and abuse against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and children by at least by 50 per cent by 2031.

Media organisations have an important role to play in addressing some of the issues raised in the Senate Inquiry. 

The Inquiry Report called for more action to recognise murdered and missing First Nations women and children, greater funding, systemic and practical changes, and more respectful media coverage.

During my time as a journalist, I reported on the Bowraville murders.

Three Indigenous children – Colleen Walker-Craig, Clinton Speedy-Duroux and Evelyn Greenup – who disappeared in 1990.

I covered the story at the time, through the decades and again in 2013.

The disappearances and murders, compounded by failings in the initial response, deeply affected the families and wider First Nations community in Bowraville. 

The families’ fight for justice continues to this day. 

The report highlights the deep concern among First Nations people that disproportionately little media coverage is given to missing and murdered First Nations women and children.

To ensure the media is aware of the recommendations of this Inquiry report, I am personally writing to the Australian Press Council, copying in the Minister for Communications, the Hon Michelle Rowland MP.

I’m asking the Press Council to carefully review the relevant report recommendation and consider providing clear and tailored guidance on coverage of missing and murdered First Nations women and children.

Careful consideration of the needs of families and communities is of paramount importance in media coverage of these cases. 

As I’ve outlined, a significant amount of work is underway and ongoing, with the Commonwealth’s investments to end gender-based violence.

We are making significant, ongoing investments into services that support First Nations women and children experiencing violence.

And we will continue to drive reform at a national level through the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children and the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Family Safety Plan. 

All governments, all communities, all Australians, can and must do more to put a stop to this senseless epidemic of family violence in this country.

In the words of Ms Kumarn Rubuntja and countless other First Nations women: “Stop the violence.” 

Thank you. 

Senator Malarndirri McCarthy
Minister for Indigenous Australians