In the wake of another death in custody in the Northern Territory, a senior Warlpiri man believes Aboriginal lives are "worth less than a chocolate bar" to those in power.
Central Land Council chair Warren Williams - whose nephew Kumanjayi White died in custody last week - is calling on the Federal Government to withhold funding to the Northern Territory Government until it sets up an independent police conduct commission.
Kumanjayi White, 24, died shortly after being forcibly restrained by two plain-clothes police officers at a supermarket in Alice Springs on May 27.
“My heart goes out to my community and all the good people who gathered in sorrow and solidarity at vigils in Alice Springs and Sydney," Mr Williams said.
“But let me be clear: only money will force the NT Government to act.
"Our lives are worth less than a chocolate bar to those in power and money is the only language they understand.”
NT Police allege the the 24-year-old, originally from the desert community of Yuendumu, was shoplifting and had assaulted a security guard who confronted him in the confectionery aisle.
Yuendumu was also home to Warlpiri teenager Kumanjayi Walker, who died after he was shot by then-constable Zachary Rolfe in November 2019.
On Wednesday evening hundreds of people attended a candlelight vigil outside Parliament House in Darwin in support of the desert community.
Calls have been growing for an independent investigation into the death of mentally disabled man Kumanjayi White, to ensure impartiality and avoid issues concerning police investigating police.
“Unlike most jurisdictions, the NT lacks a body to investigate police misconduct and has failed to overhaul the culture of its police force,” Mr Williams said.
“... We don’t trust this government and its police force to keep us safe.
“NT police talk of reform and anti-racism strategies is just that - talk.
"It’s time for the federal government to hold the NT accountable and force the change we so desperately need.”
Federal Labor Lingiari MP Marion Scrymgour, whose electorate takes in Alice Springs and Yuendumu, has called for the Australian Federal Police to step in and take over the investigation.
She highlighted issues that arose during the investigation into Constable Rolfe, and said involving an independent body would enable the Yuendumu community to have "full confidence" in the process.
"After the death of Kumanjayi Walker the NT Police had to investigate one of their own for the killing of a young Warlpiri man at Yuendumu," Ms Scrymgour said.
"Most would say that the process which led to the charging of a serving officer with the most serious of criminal offences demonstrated the agency's integrity and independence, but many of those involved in the investigation experienced ostracism, and the trial and coronial journey has resulted in resentment amongst others from within the NT Police.
"Meanwhile, not just the family of the young man but Aboriginal people throughout the Territory have been shaken by the Coronial inquiry's showcasing of casual and entrenched racism at the core of the NT Police - within its elite TRG unit.
"These revelations have been all the more disturbing for having been at first denied in an unsuccessful attempt to sweep them under the carpet."
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Kumanjayi Walker’s life mattered
Coroner's report delayed
NT Coroner Elisabeth Armitage was due to have handed down her findings into Kumanjayi Walker's death on June 10 but will delay doing so until July 7, due to Yuendumu community's pain over Kumanjayi White's death.
Ms Scrymgour supported the move.
"Trust is a fragile thing and the Coronial Inquiry evidence is too recent and too jarring for it not to have consequences and implications for what is now playing out in Alice Springs in the aftermath of yet another tragic death," she said.
Punthamara woman Jade Lane, chief executive of Change the Record, which works to address the over-representation of First Nations people behind bars, said that the death of Kumanjayi White was an outcome of the NT Government’s increasingly punitive approach to 'law and order'.
"This death sits squarely at the feet of the CLP Government," she said.
"Their deliberate policy direction – entrenching police powers, expanding criminalisation, and stripping funding from community-led justice– has created the very conditions that make these deaths not only possible but inevitable."
Ms Lane pointed out that the CLP has pulled funding for Aboriginal-led alternatives like the Kurdiji Wita Yuendumu Cultural Authority and said programs that work to prevent harm have been ignored or dismantled.
"Instead of resourcing community-led solutions, the NT Government is giving police more power to detain, restrain, and criminalise our people," she said.
NT Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro has categorically ruled out an independent investigation.
“The community and police suffered when Labor ministers previously intervened, and we cannot be clearer; we are not following Labor’s path," a CLP Government spokesperson said in a statement to NITV.
"We are following due process involving NT Police and the NT Coroner, which is underway.”
The coronial inquest into Kumnjayi White has been delayed while the coroner waits for the internal police investigation to determine if there is any criminal liability over the death.
Calls by the family for an independent investigation and for the CCTV footage to be released are yet to be answered.
Independent Victorian Senator Lidia Thorpe says nothing has changed in this country since people marched for the Black Lives Matter protests in the wake of George Floyd being killed in custody in the US.
"A young Warlpiri man, disabled and under state guardianship, has died in almost the exact same way as George Floyd," she said.
"Kumanjayi White should still be alive.
"He was hungry. He needed care.
"Instead, he was pinned to the ground by police inside a supermarket, a knee reportedly on the back of his neck. And now he’s gone.
"His family is devastated. And they are being met with disrespect from NT Police and ministers, and silence from the federal government."
First Nations activists like Paul Silva, whose uncle David Dungay died in custody after being restrained by Corrections officers and repeatedly calling out 'I can't breathe', are calling for a national week of action.
"This is not an isolated incident – it is part of a broader, entrenched system of violence, neglect, and institutional racism," Mr Silva said.
"It demands more than words – it demands action.
"Stand in solidarity with Yuendumu. Stand up against police violence. Stand up for justice.
"Let this be a week where we remember those we’ve lost, raise our voices, and demand change—loudly, unapologetically, and together."
