Police stood outside the hospital, holding riot shields, as crowds threw rocks, set bins on fire and torched cars.<\/p>\n
Officers deployed tear gas and rubber bullets to try to disperse the crowd.<\/p>\n
Calls for independent inquiry<\/p>\n
Senator Jacinta Price says th camps are dangerous. Photo \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n
Senator Jacinta Price said the conditions of town camps surrounding Alice Springs had been ignored for too long and many had become dangerous places, particularly for children.<\/p>\n
Writing in the Australian, Price said there was a constant movement of people coming and going from the camps, including individuals with long criminal histories.<\/p>\n
The senator said alcohol restrictions were not being enforced, while camps were overcrowded, poorly maintained and lacked adequate oversight.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese are not new observations. The town camp now at the centre of this case is one I know well. It is a place where I have lost family. A niece was stabbed to death there. Another child in my extended family was killed in an accident at the front of that same camp. There have been too many lives lost in that place alone,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n
The senator called for greater scrutiny around funding, raising concerns about accountability and called for an independent inquiry.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot only into the circumstances surrounding this case, but into the broader conditions that allow such vulnerability to persist,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat includes the governance of town camps, the role of organisations responsible for their upkeep, and whether current laws and enforcement mechanisms are adequate to protect the most vulnerable. Because if they are not, they must change.<\/p>\n
\u201cToo often, difficult conversations are avoided. There is a reluctance to speak plainly about what is happening in some communities. Silence does not protect anyone, including women, children and families such as [Kumanyaji\u2019s].<\/p>\n
\u201cWe cannot continue to accept a situation where environments of known risk remain unchanged. Where warning signs are visible, but action is delayed. Where funding is substantial, but outcomes fall short.\u201d<\/p>\n
Opposition leader Angus Taylor told Sky News it was a tragic situation that deserved an honest discussion, urging the government to stop denying the situation in Alice Springs and other places.<\/p>\n
Jefferson Lewis was arrested on Thursday night. Photo \/ NT Police<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the denial that has led us to this place where people aren\u2019t prepared to have honest conversations about the state of affairs in our town camps and what options there are to address it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is violence going on, there\u2019s alleged sexual violence. We took to the last election a proposal for a royal commission, an independent inquiry into sexual abuse and violence in these communities and we still think that is something that needs to be addressed.\u201d<\/p>\n
National Commissioner for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People Sue-Anne Hunter also called for an inquiry into how Lewis was released.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe call for a wider investigation into the correctional systems that led to his release,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
But Indigenous Australians Minister Malarndirri McCarthy said it was not the time to hold an inquiry.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow\u2019s the time to come together as a community in sorry business and be with this mum and her son as they prepare to bury their daughter,\u201d McCarthy told ABC.<\/p>\n
Community grieving death of little girl<\/p>\n
The community has been rocked by the little girl\u2019s death.<\/p>\n
Flowers and tribute cards have been laid at the camp where Kumanjayi Little Baby vanished on Saturday evening.<\/p>\n
The family of Kumanjayi Little Baby said it would be difficult to live without her. <\/p>\n
\u201cTo Kumanjayi Little Baby, me and Ramsiah miss and love you,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know you are in heaven with the rest of the family with Jesus and the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.<\/p>\n
\u201cMe and your brother will meet you one day.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are giving our lives to Jesus.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is going to be so hard to live the rest of our lives without you.<\/p>\n
\u201cRamsiah wants to tell you that when he sees you in heaven, he is going to give you the biggest hug ever.<\/p>\n
\u201cLove from Mum and Ramsiah.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sign up to Herald Premium Editor\u2019s Picks<\/a>, delivered straight to your inbox every Friday. Editor-in-Chief Murray Kirkness picks the week\u2019s best features, interviews and investigations. Sign up for Herald Premium here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Police stood outside the hospital, holding riot shields, as crowds threw rocks, set bins on fire and torched…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":407831,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[209871,109989,60933,74,3359,1975,8666,3043,18985,8278,4058,690,2082,42,5606,37601,296,208410,26477,4275,21409,43,384,4056,3271,55600,14042,1361,1961,40,38,41,39,158167,2951],"class_list":["post-407830","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-5yos","tag-abduction","tag-aboriginal","tag-after","tag-alice","tag-at","tag-aware","tag-call","tag-camps","tag-conditions","tag-contains","tag-dead","tag-for","tag-headlines","tag-images","tag-inquiry","tag-into","tag-islander","tag-leaders","tag-murder","tag-names","tag-news","tag-people","tag-person","tag-should","tag-springs","tag-strait","tag-that","tag-this","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories","tag-torres","tag-town"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/407830","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=407830"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/407830\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/407831"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=407830"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=407830"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=407830"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}