A Warlpiri Elder has delivered a powerful message for the prime minister following the deaths of two young men from his remote community.
Visiting the annual Garma Festival at Gulkula in northeast Arnhem Land, Ned Hargraves said his community of Yuendumu had lost trust in the police after the deaths of his grandson Kumanjayi White in May, and Kumanjayi Walker in 2019.
Kumanjayi Walker was 19 when he was shot by then-constable Zachary Rolfe at close range at a home in Yuendumu.
A coronial inquest found Mr Walker’s death was preventable, and coroner Elisabeth Armitage said she could not rule out that racism may have played a part in the teenager’s death.
The Northern Territory government is yet to commit to any of the coroner’s recommendations, handed down in Yuendumu in July.
In May, the community was left reeling after the death of Kumanjayi White at a supermarket in Alice Springs.
The 24-year-old, who had a disability, died after being forcibly restrained by two plainclothes officers.
“Kumanjayi Walker was murdered in broad daylight,” Mr Hargraves said.
“In the same way my jaja, my grandson, was done, he was killed by the law.
“The police has done enough. Enough is enough. We have to put a stop to it somewhere.”
Reading from a letter he penned to the prime minister Mr Hargraves said Anthony Albanese had the power to turn around the outcomes for his community.
“This genocide must stop,” he said.
“We are asking you, the prime minister, to do something about it.”
Mr Albanese visited Garma for a few hours on Saturday, making a speech and meeting with senior Yolngu leaders.
He announced an economic partnership with Indigenous organisations, which he said would allow Traditional Owners to advocate for infrastructure, housing and energy projects on their land, with millions promised for First Nations clean energy projects and for native title reform.
While Opposition Leader Sussan Ley did not attend Garma, she continued the Liberal Party’s post-election defeat listening tour through engagements with First Nations community groups in Western Australia.
“The first thing we have to do is listen, be present in regional communities, and talk to Indigenous Australians,” she told ABC Weekend Breakfast on Sunday.
“I don’t think it is good enough for the prime minister to stand there, deliver a speech with nice words, but not followed with any demonstration of real action.”
Since the death of Kumanjayi White in May, the community of Yuendumu has maintained calls for CCTV footage of the incident to be released, and an independent investigation into what occurred.
Mr Hargraves reiterated those calls when he spoke to media on Sunday.
“We cannot trust them because they, the government and the police, deny what we ask for, they don’t help us,” he said.
“All they want to do is destroy, kill our lives, kill our children, kill our people. It’s not right.”
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