Murdered Indigenous women, kids report 'demands action'

Police must be held accountable for systemic discrimination and prejudice against Indigenous people, advocates say. A Senate inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and children made 10 recommendations in its final report, including that the attorney-general task the Police Ministers Council with reviewing existing police practices. National Justice Project chief executive George Newhouse welcomed the recommendation and said the committee's report was a step towards substantive change. "Parliament needs to put some teeth into the report and its recommendations," he said. "First Nations organisations and communities need to be heard and empowered by police, and their recommendations for change integrated into police policies and practices." Mr Newhouse said the National Justice Project would continue to advocate for independent oversight of police investigations and complaint allegations, a coronial system that was trauma-informed and accountability for police forces. "Data needs to be kept which monitors the performance of police in protecting First Nations communities," he said. "There must be meaningful accountability for failures in policing and for the systemic discrimination and prejudice in the way that First Nations communities are treated - or should I say mistreated - and under-protected by police." The inquiry's report followed two years of public hearings, triggered by advocacy from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and supporters. The committee recommended Indigenous people and federal, state and territory governments co-designed a "culturally appropriate and nationally significant" way to recognise First Nations women and children who have disappeared or been murdered. The recommendations included a call for a First Nations person to be appointed to advocate on behalf of Indigenous women and children and address the issue of violence against them. The recommendations also outlined the need to increase the geographic spread and capacity of family violence prevention legal services, provide sustainable funding for support services for First Nations people, and empower Indigenous women to lead the design and implementation of services and support to address violence in their communities. Greens senator Dorinda Cox, who introduced the motion for the inquiry and was a member of the committee, said the recommendations fell below expectations. "These recommendations are weak and are not the bold and courageous action First Nations communities and stakeholders called for when they entrusted us with their courageous stories and shared the pain and the trauma they live with every day," she said. Senator Cox told the Senate on Thursday it was a "glaring omission" not to include a recommendation about improving data collection about missing and murdered Indigenous women and children. Antoinette Braybrook, chief executive of Djirra, a Victorian-based Aboriginal family violence prevention service, said it was important Indigenous women had a platform to tell their stories through the inquiry but there must be action. "Truth is uncomfortable," she said. "It can be painful but it must be spoken, written down, and heard, and governments must act upon it. "You cannot un-hear us now. "We are watching, and we will continue to demand change. "This must not be another report that sits on a shelf gathering dust."