Lidia Thorpe (Victoria, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) the Northern region of New South Wales (NSW) has an alarming number and cluster of unsolved homicides and missing persons cases, particularly from the late 1970 onwards,

(ii) many of the victims were First Nations, from lower socio-economic backgrounds, and women,

(iii) in many of these cases there is a similar modus operandi of the perpetrator(s),

(iv) despite the investigating agency, NSW Police, publicly speculating that some of these cases may be linked, there has never been a police strike force established to investigate these cases collectively, and

(v) representatives of the NSW Police Association have publicly stated that lack of funding for homicide investigations in Northern NSW has seriously impeded homicide cases being solved;

(b) supports the calls from families, friends and communities impacted by these egregious crimes for resourcing, and a commitment from the Government to ensure that the truth is established and justice is served in these matters; and

(c) calls on the Government to ensure that the Australian Federal Police engage with NSW Police to contribute resources and personnel to assist in solving these missing and murdered persons cases.

This motion is concerned with a large number of unsolved cases of missing and murdered people, mostly women and First Nations, in New South Wales between 1997 and 2015. I am aware of research showing there are at least 30 cases in the geographical area north of Newcastle alone, which does not have a high population. Some of these cases seem clustered in geography and time frame with sometimes remarkably similar circumstances.

Communities have long wondered if cases might be linked, yet a New South Wales Police strike force was never established to investigate these cases collectively. The investigation of these cases has long stalled, which New South Wales policy states is due to resource constraints. In the meantime, all the families and communities affected are still wondering what happened to their loved ones or seeking justice for those they lost. Crimes on people like us—women from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, First Nations women—do not get investigated and prioritised. I myself have been touched by the murder of a woman who had no justice. My aunty's daughter was carried, deceased, in the perpetrator's arms, to the front lawn of her mother's house and thrown dead onto the front lawn. This murder was never, ever looked at. The police did not care, because there was substance abuse involved. You know, the old 'drunken blackfellas'—the stereotypical way we are regarded in parts of this society that we are trying to live in. The police didn't care enough, because to them they were just drunks. Yet my aunty mourns my cousin, who's younger than me. That man carried her dead in his arms, dumped her on the front lawn and the police did nothing.

Let me just read out the names of a number of other women who are missing or murdered with no justice. Their families continue to live with the grief or the not knowing where their loved one is: Narelle Cox disappeared from Grafton 1977; Robyn Hickie disappeared from Belmont 1979; Amanda Robinson disappeared from Swansea 1979; Anneke Adriansen and Alan Fox disappeared from Kempsey 1979; Lewis 'Buddy' Kelly murdered in Kempsey in 1983; Hilda Clarke disappeared from Coffs Harbour in 1986; Susan Isenhood was murdered in Taree in 1986; Lesley Waterhouse was murdered in Port Macquarie in 1986; Helen Madden disappeared from Nambucca Heads in 1988; Susan Kiely disappeared from Bellingen in 1989; Evelyn Greenup was murdered in Bowraville in 1990; Colleen Walker-Craig was murdered in Bowraville in 1990; Clinton Speedy-Deroux was murdered in Bowraville 1991; Bronwyn Winfield disappeared from Lennox Head in 1993; Gordana Kotevski disappeared from Charlestown in 1994; Melissa Hunt was murdered in Stockrington in 1994; Ineka Hinkley was murdered in Bellingen 1996; Margaret Cox was murdered in Taree in 1996; Lee Ellen Stace murdered in Yamba in 1997; Lois Roberts murdered in Nimbin in 1998; Lucy MacDonald disappeared from Lismore in 2002; Margaret Gall was murdered in Raymond Terrace in 2002; Rose Howell disappeared from Bellingen in 2003; Harmony Bryant was murdered in Bonny Hills in 2003; Kylee-Ann Schaffer disappeared from Willawarren in 2004; Roslyn Reay was murdered in Newcastle 2005; Simone Strobel was murdered in Lismore in 2005; Amanda O'Dell was murdered in Kempsey 2006; Jasmine Morris disappeared from Grafton in 2009; and Ellen Wilson disappeared from Ballina in 2015.

I hope the people listening to this today can see that there is no justice. All we are asking for is some respect for those families and for those mothers who continue to mourn the disappearance or murder of their loved one, and some pressure on the police departments and the police to properly investigate when a black woman or a black person goes missing or is murdered. Our lives do matter in this country, and, yes, we are black lives, but this can't continue. There is a continued pattern here, and all we ask is that you take it seriously. It's not a political statement. It's not about politics; it's about justice. And I hope that you find it in your hearts to do the right thing.

Paul Scarr (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

nator SCARR (—) (): I'll be reasonably brief, because I want to give Senator Green an opportunity before the 5.30 adjournment to provide some comments as well. Can I compliment Senator Thorpe for bringing this matter before the Senate. The purpose of my contribution is to inform the Senate that the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee References Committee, as senators might remember, is conducting an inquiry into missing and murdered First Nations women and children, and we are progressing our work in that regard.

We have conducted two in camera hearings in Perth and Northern New South Wales, where we've had the opportunity to hear evidence from families who have been impacted by the events which Senator Thorpe alluded to. Can I say that hearing that evidence from those families has made clear to us that for each and every name that Senator Thorpe mentions there is a family—there are parents, mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, nephews and nieces—and the trauma arising from those events is carried across the decades as people seek the justice that Senator Thorpe referred to.

The committee is working through a process where we're hearing from the families of victims, and the process we're undertaking is that after we have a hearing where we hear from the families, we subsequently have a hearing where we hear from the authorities, so we can put to the authorities the evidence which we've taken—in many cases, absolutely horrifying evidence; just incredibly disturbing—to inquire into what action has been undertaken.

We're looking to issue a progress report by the end of the year and continue working diligently to come up with recommendations to address the real issues that Senator Thorpe has alluded to. I thank all members of the committee, including the deputy chair, Senator Green, and also Senator Thorpe, who has provided really valuable assistance in terms of the committee's work. Can I also reassure senators that this is something which the committee is taking extraordinarily seriously and which we all have an obligation to take incredibly seriously, because, as I said, some of the evidence we have heard is deeply, deeply disturbing, and the trauma that has been experienced by families has continued across the decades. This is something we need to shine a bright light on.

Nita Green (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you for the opportunity to speak on this motion. Before I begin, I want to take a moment to acknowledge that, probably since this motion was drafted, we've had the deaths of more women, particularly the horrific and tragic death of a mother of three earlier this week in Perth. I don't know what the culturally appropriate thing to do is, but I want to extend my deepest sympathies to her family and note that she was described by her family as very caring:

Everyone knew her, felt safe with her. She loved her children, everyone's children. She made a fuss over everyone.

She is no longer with us today.

I want to thank Senator Thorpe for moving this motion, and I want to thank Senator Thorpe for moving the motion which established the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee inquiry into missing and murdered First Nations women and children. I do want to use this as an opportunity to update the Senate on the work that were doing. The chair has aptly done that today. I really do want to make sure that we're conducting those hearings in a way that protects the confidence and privacy of families. That's why we are being very diligent. It might seem like we've asked for a lot of time to conduct these hearings. We've asked for an extension of time, and we intend to provide an update to the Senate on the work. But it was really important to me as a member of that committee that we took the time to understand what some of the issues and barriers would be, not only to the evidence we would receive but even for families as they relived that trauma by giving evidence. We looked at how we could do that in an appropriate and safe way. The deputy chair uses the word 'trauma', and that is the only word to describe what these families have been through. It is trauma that is not just intergenerational but unrelenting. In most circumstances and in the evidence we've heard, I'd say that trauma has been unnecessary and inflicted on people who didn't deserve to live a life without their loved ones. Carefully, without naming the families we met, I want to thank them for participating in hearings. I know that it's been really difficult and really painful to relive a lot of that storytelling.

As a senator, you get these opportunities from time to time to participate in work outside your realm of expertise, and it's some of the most meaningful work I think I'll ever do in the Senate. It's meaningful because I've never had the opportunity to hear those stories firsthand. They're not just moving but do change the way you see and understand the world. That's an experience that I don't think I would have ever had unless I was part of this committee process. I'm sorry that families have had to go through the process of telling these stories again, but I'm very grateful for it.

On the substantive issues that are raised in the committee around the conduct of police and authorities, what is real and alive to us as committee members is that we are hearing evidence of systemic issues that cannot be addressed by a couple of recommendations through a Senate inquiry. This work does need to be methodical and really well thought out. We thank the Senate for the extension of time, and we thank Senator Thorpe for supporting the work that we're doing. We intend to hold further hearings, but we are really mindful of going back to authorities, putting these issues to them and then going back to families and asking them if there's anything else we need to be aware of. We're going to hold some hearings—I think I can say—in Queensland. We're not just looking at one state or one police service. I know you've raised issues about the NSW police and the families from New South Wales, but I just want to make it clear that we are looking at this at a national level, and that's what this inquiry was meant to do, because only the Senate can consider this from a federal point of view.

With the few moments I have left, I want to thank the chair for the way that you've conducted the hearings and the way you've approached the task. I thank Senator Cox for her contribution, and I thank Senator Thorpe. I hope we can continue on the path forward that we've established in creating a safe space for senators to ask the dumb questions that we don't know the answers to, to make mistakes and to understand that it's really important that we don't have all the answers yet, but that the reason we're doing the work is so that we can establish some justice and some resolution, albeit very small, for families who have suffered for a very long time.

I thank Senator Thorpe for moving this motion because it gave us an opportunity to talk about the work we have been doing. The work we have been doing isn't finished. It will be a very emotional day, I think, when we do finalise the work of the inquiry, and I hope all senators benefit from the opportunity to hear from the committee once we have finished.

Debate interrupted.