“Our little queen”: Could Kumanjayi Little Baby’s death be a turning point?
5/4/202618 min
On April 25, Kumanjayi Little Baby was reported missing from her bed at the Old Timers town camp, just south of Alice Springs. Five days later, after a community-unifying effort, her body was found. She was five years old.
Soon after, community members found the man accused of killing her. They called police and now a 47-year-old man has been charged with murder, and other charges we can’t mention for legal reasons.
For the past week, as her family and community have mourned, Alice Springs/Mparntwe has once again been placed under the intensity of the national gaze; its grief, anger and calls for justice broadcast across the country.
Today, the Chief Executive of SNAICC, the national peak body advocating for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, Catherine Liddle, on Kumanjayi Little Baby, the grief in Mparntwe, and the questions that need to be asked without turning her death into another political fight.
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Guest: SNAICC CEO, Catherine Liddle
Photo: Matt Garrick ABC News
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Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsRobin Jabangnonga Granites· Soundbite0:01
My name's Robin Jabangnonga Granites, and I'm the, uh, grandfather of our little baby Kumantjayi, little who's a queen, who's our little queen. And we ask that everyone, Yapa and Karraya, are together in respecting this time of sorry business and mourning.
Daniel James· Host0:25
[sombre music] On April twenty-five, Kumantjayi Little Baby was reported missing from her bed at the Elders Town Camp just south of Alice Springs. Five days later, after a community unifying effort, her body was found. She was five years old. Soon after, community members found the man accused of killing her. They called police, and now a forty-seven-year-old man has been charged with murder and other charges we can't mention for legal reasons. For the past week, as her family and community have mourned, Alice Springs and Batchelor has once again been placed under the intensity of the national gaze. Its grief, anger, and calls for justice broadcast across the country.
Robin Jabangnonga Granites· Soundbite1:08
We must now let the justice system do its work. I also ask all our politicians, leaders to be respectful of this sorry time. We too need to work together on this, on many issues