This is not the news we wanted to hear. This week has been a tragedy that has shattered the nation and devastated the community of Mparntwe/Alice Springs.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this edition of SNAICC in the News includes the passing of Kumanjayi Little Baby.
Some of the media includes images of Kumanjayi Little Baby.
If you or someone you know needs support, you can call 13YARN (13 92 76) to speak with an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander crisis supporter, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
You can also call the national counselling line 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732) also available 24 hours a day.
Our CEO Catherine Liddle is a resident of Mparntwe/Alice Springs. Catherine is an Arrernte and Luritja woman, and this week’s loss is not something SNAICC experiences from a distance.
The Old Timers camp, where Kumanjayi Little Baby was last seen, is home to services run by one of our member organisations.
SNAICC is supporting the family through this time.
It is the time to hold our loved ones a little tighter as we remember Kumanjayi Little Baby and her family.
We Remember Kumanjayi Little Baby
A five-year-old girl went missing from her home in Mparntwe/Alice Springs late on Saturday night. On Thursday, we were shattered to learn that the body of Kumanjayi Little Baby had been found. On ABC Radio Alice Springs Breakfast with Stewart Brash, Catherine reflected on the way the strength and resilience of the community and they way they have come together:
“Over the last five days, it has been the strength of community that has got everyone through, the love for her family that has got everybody through.”
SNAICC is supporting the family through this time and have released public statement on their behalf so they can focus on sorry business and each other. NITV reported on the statement calling for the community to focus on mourning and Sorry Business.
Senior Yapa (Walpiri) elder Robin Granites said:
“It is time now for sorry business, to show respect for our family and have space for grieving and remembering. Our children are precious, of course we are feeling angry and hurt at what has happened. This man has been caught, thanks to community action, and we must now let justice take its course while we take the time to mourn Kumanjayi Little Baby and support our family.”
The family has asked people in bush communities to carefully consider travelling to Mparntwe. If the need is to join sorry business, come for that and return home.
Mparntwe is the traditional country of Central, East and Western Arrernte peoples, and those ways must be respected.
“We need to be strong for each other, we must respect family and cultural practice. This is the Yapa way”.
CEO Catherine Liddle spoke on ABC NewsRadio about the devastation that the community and the country were feeling as we learned the news. She spoke of the love in the name Kumanjayi Little Baby, and the need to observe sorry business, and to avoid violence and posting on social media.
Catherine also spoke to ABC News Breakfast about the immediate impact on the community and the outpouring of support.
“This was the news no one wanted to hear. Everybody is conscious that this is every family member’s worst nightmare. People are shattered. That is the only way to describe it.”
Catherine also spoke on ABC RN Breakfast with Sally Sara, about widespread grief reaching well beyond Mparntwe/Alice Springs, as the community paid respect by cancelling events and sporting weekends.
While on the program, she was asked whether there were any systemic questions this tragedy has raised, Catherine Liddle was direct:
“This is not a child safety issue. A violent criminal was released from custody 500 kilometres away from Alice Springs and somehow ends up at an overcrowded town camp where there was no place to stay. There were no eyes on him. We have to ask ourselves: how did that happen? That is what caused this.”
“We know that families keep children safe. We know that really good housing keeps children safe. We know that access to supports keeps children safe.”
On 7 News Catherine spoke about the need to focus on mourning and Sorry Business, the questions ahead, and the role of the community and ACCOs in supporting the community in this difficult time.
Those questions about housing, custodial policy and investment in early support will need to be answered. That time is coming. But for now, we should all hold our loved ones a little closer as we remember Kumanjayi Little Baby.
Read the statement from Robin GranitesNational Child and Family Investment Strategy Sets Clear Direction
The National Indigenous Times reported on the release of the National Child and Family Investment Strategy, a landmark development in the work to protect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families.
The Strategy is the first of its kind. Developed by SNAICC under Safe and Supported, it sets a nationally agreed direction to shift investment away from crisis-driven child protection responses and toward early support, prevention and ACCO-led services that keep families together and children safe.
It speaks directly to what Catherine Liddle named this week. Families keep children safe. Housing keeps children safe.
Access to supports keeps children safe. For too long, investment has arrived too late — after crisis, after removal, after harm. The Family Matters Report 2025 shows the vast majority of child protection expenditure is still directed at the crisis point. The Strategy is the framework to change that.
The Federal Government and the majority of states and territories have committed to the Strategy, with implementation plans due by late 2026. SNAICC CEO Catherine Liddle said:
Read our media release here“For too long, child protection systems have focused on crisis responses and removing children, rather than investing early to keep families strong and together. A strategy alone won’t change outcomes — implementation and commitment will.”