Jacinta Nampijinpa Price says ‘silence is killing our babies’ as she demands ‘courage’ from governments after the alleged murder of her five-year-old niece in Alice Springs as Territory chief minister fires up.

Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has delivered an emotional plea in Federal Parliament following the alleged murder of her five-year-old niece, begging the Government to demonstrate “courage” and “put our children first”.

“I don’t want this Parliament to offer condolences … while refusing to confront the conditions that made those condolences necessary in the first place,” she said.

“I want this parliament to put aside our political differences and stand up for what’s right for our children.

“This is what we’re here for. This should be the most important thing that every single one of us is here for.”

Fighting back tears, Senator Price on Tuesday told the Senate the death of Kumanjayi Little Baby – as she is now known for cultural reasons – had exposed longstanding dysfunction, violence and neglect in town camps and remote communities.

The little girl was allegedly taken from a town camp on the outskirts of Alice Springs on April 25. Her body was found nearby, in the dry Todd River bed, five days later.

“She was five years old. She was loved. She should still be here,” Senator Price said.

“My niece’s life was taken senselessly, selfishly and horrifically.

“And the hardest truth of all is that for many in my hometown, none of this came as a surprise.

“But the truth is that people do not want to speak this out loud.”

Senator Price said “for too long” there had been silence around what was happening in town camps and remote communities.

“A silence driven by fear, a fear of causing offence, a fear of being labelled racist, fear of speaking honestly about dysfunction, violence, alcohol abuse, neglect and conditions vulnerable children are growing up in,” she said.

“That silence is killing our babies.”

Senator Price said an “ideology” had developed within parts of Australia’s child protection system that treated Aboriginal children differently because of their race.

“It’s that same ideology that has created a hands-off culture within parts of a child protection system, an ideology that too often places cultural sensitivities and political correctness ahead of the safety of children,” she said.

“It’s the same ideology that teaches people to stay silent in the face of wrongdoing because speaking honestly might offend somebody.

“Well, I am no longer interested in protecting adults who feel uncomfortable about truths while children are being buried.”

Jefferson Lewis, 47, has been charged with the girl’s alleged murder and two other offences that cannot be published for legal reasons. His case will return to court in July.

“Condolences become empty when they are accompanied by excuses for inaction,” Senator Price said.

“Condolences become hollow when difficult conversations are avoided in the name of cultural sensitivity while vulnerable children remain exposed to violence, abuse and neglect.

“And I’m tired of the excuses.”

Price said she was tired of hearing about “symbolism, acknowledgements, gestures” while children continued to grow up in unsafe environments.

“Housing matters, but housing alone is not going to solve this crisis,” she said.

“Building another house means nothing if violence, alcoholism, abuse and neglect continue unchecked inside these homes.

“And town camps, which many people romanticise, have become places of entrenched dysfunction, places where alcohol restrictions may exist on paper, but they’re routinely ignored.

“Places where overcrowding, violence, criminal behaviour have become normalised, places where vulnerable women and children are too often left unprotected.”

Child safety should always come first, Senator Price said.

“And yes, culture matters, but no child should be sacrificed on the altar of culture or political correctness,” she said.

“No child should be left in danger because adults are too afraid to intervene.

“No child should lose their life because governments lack the courage to act.”

She renewed her call for “at the very least, a serious inquiry into the failures that continue to place vulnerable Indigenous children at risk”.

“We need stronger accountability across organisations responsible for town camps and service delivery,” she said.

“We need child protection systems that prioritise safety above ideology, and we need leadership prepared to speak honestly about these realities.

“Most of all, we need courage … to stop treating honesty as racism, because the cost of silence is now measured in the life of my five-year-old niece.”

Riots in Alice Springs after accused child killer bashed

Newsworthy

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1 Min Read

01 May 2026

The senator’s speech came amid mounting scrutiny of the Northern Territory’s child protection system following revelations that six notifications about the little girl’s welfare were allegedly made to the Department of Children and Families in the six weeks before her death.

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson claimed the little girl’s alleged murder “could have been prevented” and described conditions in some remote communities and town camps as “a national disgrace”.

“It should disgust us all that any Australian child is forced to live in such squalid and dangerous conditions in an obviously dysfunctional community,” Senator Hanson said.

“It’s been almost 20 years since the Little Children are Sacred report, and it’s evident children in these Northern Territory communities are no safer today than they were back then.”

The Queensland senator accused governments of repeatedly failing to address violence, abuse and neglect in remote communities despite years of warnings and funding.

“Justice will only be achieved when the Indigenous corporations, which receive huge amounts of taxpayers’ money to close the gaps, are held accountable for their failures,” she said.

“We turn a blind eye to it because you can’t say anything about it because you’re called a racist. It’s disgraceful.”

Senator Hanson said Australians “have an obligation to every child in this nation”.

“If they’re living in these conditions, then you take them out of those conditions and put them where they are going to be loved and cared for,” she said.

Meanwhile, Indigenous Australians Minister Malarndirri McCarthy repeated the family’s request that the little girl’s death “not be used by any politician for reasons that do not honour and respect” her.

She said the country had been shattered by the little girl’s death and paid tribute to the volunteers, police and community members involved in the search effort.

“I rise today to share my heartbreak and extend my deepest condolences to Kumanjayi Little Baby’s mum, her brother, her family, who loved this little girl so much,” she said.

The minister referenced candlelight vigils held across the country and read comments from the girl’s mother.

“She was my little princess,” Senator McCarthy said.

“She loved cuddling puppies. She loved watching Bluey and Masha and the Bear. She loved the colour pink.”

This comes as NT Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro has publicly criticised the Territory’s Children’s Commissioner Shahleena Musk for refusing to launch an own-initiative investigation into the circumstances leading up to the girl’s death.

Speaking on Darwin radio station Mix 104.9, Ms Finocchiaro said she was “gobsmacked” the government had needed to call for such an investigation.

“I’m actually gobsmacked that it’s taken the government to ask for it,” she said.

“I mean, that is – by very definition – a Children’s Commissioner’s job. So if she’s not doing that, what is she doing?”

Speaking to host Katie Woolf, Ms Finocchiaro said Ms Musk’s role was independent of government.

“This is an independent statutory authority whose job it is to look out for the rights and best interests and protection of children,” she said.

“I think it was the right call for Minister Cahill to make, to say she welcomed the Children’s Commissioner (investigation).

“I mean, we are welcoming scrutiny in this space and I hope we see something coming from that office as requested.”

NT Child Protection Minister Robyn Cahill last week urged Ms Musk to investigate the events leading up to Kumanjayi Little Baby’s death.

“I actually would like to call on the Children’s Commissioner to come forward, use her powers under her Act and investigate this situation, so we can absolutely be certain that this can never happen again,” she said.

However, despite having the power to conduct an own-initiative investigation, the Office of the Children’s Commissioner told The Nightly last week it would not investigate the matter itself.

Instead, a spokesperson said Ms Musk had requested “that a formal coronial inquest be undertaken into this tragedy”.

“These mechanisms are most appropriately placed to investigate and review the circumstances of this matter and potential contributing and systemic factors,” the spokesperson said.

The Nightly has sought a further response from the OCC following the Chief Minister’s remarks.