Malarndirri McCarthy (NT, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Indigenous Australians) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'd like to update the Senate on an incredibly tragic event that occurred in the Northern Territory in the past couple of days. On Sunday night, 20-year-old Declan Laverty went to work—a shift at one of the bottle shops in Darwin. Sadly, he never came back home after that shift. He was allegedly killed, and since then a 19-year-old man has been charged with murder and taken into custody. It's the news that no parent, family, friend or community ever wants to hear. No-one expects to go to work—or anywhere, for that matter—and lose their life to violence.

My heartfelt condolences go out to Declan's family, especially his mum and dad. We heard young Declan's father, Damian, still had his son's dinner waiting in the fridge for him that night. We also heard his mum, Samara, and dad, Damian, received text messages from their son saying, 'Love you, been stabbed'. It's a pain we can't imagine any parent experiencing, and it's something that is so heart-wrenching. No parent should ever worry about whether or not their child will come home.

We've been facing a lot of issues in the Northern Territory, most significantly these past couple of months. I recognise that the issue of alcohol is a deeply troubling issue for many residents across the Northern Territory, and I know it's not simply in the Northern Territory. It's also in many communities, in particular in Western Australia and in Queensland. But there is something going on across our country that we have to deal with here around the scourge of violence that emanates from alcohol. Whilst alcohol itself is not the complete cause, it is absolutely contributing to what we see occurring. I say to the people of the Northern Territory that there is an increase here that has to be dealt with.

Organisations like Larrakia Nation, for example, do an incredible job under circumstances of enormous stress. I say this personal message to the staff of Larrakia Nation in Darwin—Darwin is on Larrakia country. I have been out with staff, whether it's to see their work on the Night and Day Patrol and the way they interact with a lot of families and individuals who come in from communities and who are either homeless or unable to return to their communities. The Larrakia Nation does a tremendous job in supporting and trying to work with individuals and families to assist them with whatever concerns they have. But I have heard the CEO of Larrakia Nation also speak on radio, saying that there is an expectation that any First Nations people who come onto Larrakia country also need to show respect. They need to show respect for the place and the country of somewhere else and someone else but also for the people they come into contact with.

Clearly, this is a community call to all people—all groups and organisations—that things have to change. We cannot have people walking in and out of bottle shops, taking off with alcohol and thinking that's okay. We cannot have workers, whether they're in bottle shops, whether they're in retail outlets and stores across the Northern Territory, feeling unsafe and now feeling like they're so unsafe they may not get home. It is not good enough, and we have to ensure the safety of everyone. We stand here and talk about the importance of safety for women and children. Will we stand here and say that the safety of every person is absolutely critical? I say to the people of the Northern Territory: every single person does matter, and what occurred this week is a tragic incident and event. My heart goes out to the families involved. We have to do more, and I'll certainly be looking at that when I get back to the Northern Territory.