Daniel James

Its grief, anger and calls for justice broadcast across the country.

I'm Daniel James, and you're listening to 7am.

Today, the Chief Executive of SNAICC, the national peak body advocating for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people, Catherine Little, on Kumanjay Little Baby, the grief in Mbatwe, and the questions that need to be asked without turning her death into another political fight.

It's Tuesday, May 5.

Catherine, you've been up in Alice Springs during this horrendous event.

Now that things have settled down, the alleged perpetrator has now been charged.

How is the community doing more broadly up there?

What did you notice about the way the police and community work together?

Is there a chance that through this horrible, horrible circumstance that there could be an opportunity for a better relationship between police and the Aboriginal community up there?

One of the things that we've been thinking about nationally is that

You only hear about Alice Springs in Bartoway when something terrible happens.

Is that frustrating?

And does that make people in the town and around the town camps more sensitive to the national gaze when something like this happens?

Yeah.

What do you want people to know about the town beyond the headlines?

Still to come, questions around why and how the alleged killer was released from jail.

Catherine, the family has asked politicians not to turn Kamajai Little Baby's death into a political issue.

How do we respect that while not trampling on people's griefs, while still asking serious questions about how this happened and what has to change?

After a case like this, governments often reach for tougher policing, more surveillance, more restrictions, and then in some instances, more child removals.

What would be the wrong lesson to take from common jail little babies?