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Crisis of First Nations children in care will worsen under NT child protection reforms, advocates warn

13 May 2026 at 02:53

Legal and child advocates have criticised the changes, which include eroding the Aboriginal child placement principle, as ‘dangerous, ignorant and wrong’

The Northern Territory government is removing a protection introduced to avoid a repeat of the Stolen Generation as part of sweeping reforms to the child protection system.

The draft legislation was revealed alongside details of a major review into the Territory’s child protection system, announced in the wake of the high-profile death of five-year-old Kumanjayi Little Baby in Alice Springs.

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© Photograph: Rhett Hammerton/EPA

© Photograph: Rhett Hammerton/EPA

© Photograph: Rhett Hammerton/EPA

Jefferson Lewis charged with murder over death of Kumanjayi Little Baby near Alice Springs

Warlpiri girl went missing on Saturday 25 April from a town camp and was found dead five days later

  • Warning: This article contains references to Indigenous Australians who have died

Northern Territory police have charged Jefferson Lewis with murder over the death of five-year-old Kumanjayi Little Baby.

The Warlpiri girl went missing on Saturday 25 April from her bed in a town camp near Alice Springs.

Indigenous Australians can call 13YARN on 13 92 76 for information and crisis support; or call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Mensline on 1300 789 978

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© Photograph: Em Jensen/The Guardian

© Photograph: Em Jensen/The Guardian

© Photograph: Em Jensen/The Guardian

Kumanjayi Little Baby’s relatives share grief at ‘child ripped away’ as NT chief minister foreshadows charges

2 May 2026 at 02:13

Gurindji families mourn ‘a life so precious, gone far too soon’

  • Warning: This article contains images of and references to Indigenous Australians who have died

Kumanjayi Little Baby’s relatives have released a statement saying they felt “helpless” when they heard she was missing, and hope their community can unite in grief.

“A life so precious, so full of innocence, gone far too soon,” the Gurindji families said of the five-year-old Warlpiri girl, who was found dead in Alice Springs on Thursday evening – five days after she had gone missing from her bed in the Old Timers town camp.

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© Photograph: Em Jensen/The Guardian

© Photograph: Em Jensen/The Guardian

© Photograph: Em Jensen/The Guardian

Police say they will charge people with unrest in Alice Springs after arrest over death of Kumanjayi Little Baby

Five-year-old’s grandfather and senior Warlpiri elder appeals for calm, saying: ‘It is time now for sorry business’

• Warning: This article contains references to and images of Indigenous Australians who have died

Northern Territory police say one person is facing charges and more are expected to be over unrest in Alice Springs after the arrest of a man in connection with the death of five-year-old girl.

The grandfather of Kumanjayi Little Baby, whose body was found on Thursday 5km from the Old Timers town camp where she was last seen alive on Saturday night, called for calm in the central Australian town on Friday, saying the violent confrontation between police and others at Alice Springs hospital was not “our way”.

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© Photograph: Rhett Hammerton/EPA

© Photograph: Rhett Hammerton/EPA

© Photograph: Rhett Hammerton/EPA

Unrest in Alice Springs after Jefferson Lewis arrested over death of Kumanjayi Little Baby

Dozens of people gather outside hospital where 47-year-old was being treated five days after the five-year-old girl disappeared

Warning: This article contains references to and images of Indigenous Australians who have died

An angry crowd has clashed with police outside a hospital in Alice Springs where a 47-year-old man arrested by police in connection with the death of five-year-old Kumanjayi Little Baby was being treated.

Council workers were assessing the damage on Friday morning, as fires smouldered in skip bins and a nearby service station had been pulled apart.

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© Photograph: Rhett Hammerton/AAP

© Photograph: Rhett Hammerton/AAP

© Photograph: Rhett Hammerton/AAP

‘We’re coming for you’: NT police search for suspect after body of missing five-year-old found

Mother of Kumanjayi Little Baby, whose body was found after five-day search near Alice Springs, says ‘it’s going to be so hard to live the rest of our lives without you’

• Warning: This article contains references to Indigenous Australians who have died

Police in the Northern Territory are searching for a man they suspect of murder after finding a body believed to be that of a five-year-old girl who went missing from Alice Springs on Saturday.

The NT police commissioner, Martin Dole, told reporters the tragic discovery was made just before noon local time on Thursday, about 5km south of Old Timers town camp, where she was last seen. The girl’s family requested she be referred to as Kumanjayi Little Baby, in line with cultural protocols.

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© Photograph: Em Jensen/The Guardian

© Photograph: Em Jensen/The Guardian

© Photograph: Em Jensen/The Guardian

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