The Northern Territory government has been told it must overhaul its response to family violence to stop women and children being killed.
The NT coroner on Monday handed down inquest findings into the deaths of four Aboriginal women, making 35 recommendations.
Coroner Elisabeth Armitage, who became emotional while delivering the findings, made clear that the wide-ranging recommendations should be implemented in full to save lives.
The inquest was held into the deaths of Miss Yunupiŋu, Ngeygo Ragurrk, Kumarn Rubuntja and Kumanjayi Haywood.
All four women reported fears for their safety to authorities or loved ones in the weeks, months and even years before they were killed. Their killers had histories of family violence and were known to police.
The recommendations included that the NT government should fund a peak body to tackle family and sexual violence, increase investment in alcohol and drug rehabilitation and the Aboriginal Interpreter Service, expand a specialist family and sexual violence court, commit to developing alternatives to custody for perpetrators, and increase its core baseline funding for crisis services.
The NT police were also told it should commit to a “significantly expanded and appropriately resourced” domestic, family and sexual violence command in Alice Springs and Darwin, which would be headed by an assistant commissioner and include permanent positions and a training unit that would ensure the force was aware of best practice in response to the issue.
“I make the following recommendations in the sincere hope that they will be implemented fully and that meaningful, long-term change will result and lives will be saved,” Armitage said in her findings.
She said to the women’s families that “we have talked about tragic times and their tragic deaths”.
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“But I know that you remember them smiling and laughing, sharing stories and spending time on country, and happy times with family. They lived and were loved.
“In handing down these findings, I will remember them that way too.”
More to come.
