WARNING: this article discusses themes that may be distressing to some readers.
As a new Parliament sits in Canberra, Alice Springs is mourning the death of an Aboriginal woman and her child.
The loss has prompted anti-violence advocates to renew already urgent calls for the federal government to invest in the safety of Aboriginal women in the Territory.
On July 17, the bodies of three people were found at an outstation 25 kilometres north of Alice Springs.
A 30-year-old mother and her 14-week-old baby had been killed with a third body, a man, suspected to be the woman’s partner, found at the scene in possession of a gun. The Territory's police minister said it was being investigated as a murder-suicide.
Following the deaths, a vigil was held in Alice Springs to remember the mother and child.
“I was only privileged enough to meet her a few times, mostly through work that I've also heard through friends and family and services, just what a strong and resilient mother she was and how much she really loved her children and how hard she fought for them,” said anti-violence researcher and Alice Springs local Dr Chay Brown.
“She was a very loved member of the community, as well as her baby.”
Whilst speaking, Dr Brown was embraced by TWFSG co-ordinator and Warlpiri and Arrernte woman Shirleen Campbell. Source: Tangere Women’s Family Safety Group
Territory in crisis
The deaths are the fourth domestic violence-related fatality reported in Alice Springs in 18 months.
Dr Brown told NITV News that in the town there's a feeling that "our hearts never have a chance to heal".
“It’s heartbreaking to sit here with women who are fighting against family violence, women who have lost people, family members to family violence," she said.
"To sit with them in mourning another horrific death, and to hear them say to you that no one is listening.”
The deaths have boosted already strained calls for more domestic violence-focused funding.
“You have services here in the Territory working in domestic violence, who are doing a lot of their work unfunded or doing their work with very few or limited resources,” Dr Brown said.
“These services are so constantly at crisis point, that makes it very difficult to even think about long-term prevention when you are trying to respond to really critical needs and really critical situations with very limited funding."
Tangentyere Women's Family Safety Group is working in Alice Springs to address family and domestic violence. Source: Tangentyere Women's Family Safety Group
Canberra to feel the 'deep sadness'
NT Labor Senator and Assistant Minister for Indigenous Australians Malarndirri McCarthy has pledged to ensure the mother and child are remembered and said more must be done.
"I have brought to the attention of my parliamentary colleagues the deep sadness felt in Central Australia," the Senator told NITV News.
"The recent events in the Northern Territory are yet another reminder that we can never stop fighting against the scourge of domestic violence, no matter where it is.
"The federal government is working closely with states and territories, women’s safety experts and victim-survivors to make sure investment in women’s safety goes where it is of greatest need."
Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth and state and territory counterparts met last week to discuss finalising the next National Plan for October.
She noted that the delivery of the plan will ensure accessibility to remote and rural areas, including across the Northern Territory.
Ms McCarthy, Ms Rishworth and Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney will meet with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advisory Council to develop appropriate responses, with the potential of a national stand-alone plan for Indigenous women and their children.
NITV News reached out to Minister for Women Katy Gallagher however, did not receive a response by the time of publication.
Senator McCarthy told NITV News that the government is working to ensure that safety is priority regardless of where someone lives. Source: Supplied
'It's everyone's responsibility'
Greens Senator and former anti-violence campaigner Dorinda Cox domestic violence isn't a "women's issue, it is a societal issue".
"It is everyone's responsibility to commit to preventing family violence from happening to our children and our grandchildren. It is our responsibility to ensure the safety of women at home, at work and in public," she said.
"We must take abuse in all its forms more seriously."
Back in Alice Springs, Dr Brown is confident in Ms McCarthy’s ability to push for change but is frustrated that the onus falls again on Aboriginal women.
“I know that she will table that and she will bring that conversation to the national stage as much as she possibly can,” she said.
“But it shouldn't always fall on the shoulders of First Nations women to do this work. And it shouldn't fall on the shoulders of women to do this work . . . this is everyone's responsibility.
“I do want to hear from our federal ministers. I want to hear from those people who have been tasked with the portfolios for women, for reducing domestic violence, sexual violence, and all of those other intersecting portfolios. I want to hear from all of them."
Dr Brown laying flowers at the vigil in town on Sunday. Source: Tangentyere Women's Family Safety Group
'I don't want to speak at another vigil'
While she waits to hear from the corridors of power, Dr Brown reinforces that the silence has to stop and Aboriginal women's lives must be centered.
“The nation does not grieve the lives of First Nations women, the way they grieve the lives of other women . . . we see it, we feel it, there is absolute silence," she said.
"You cannot tell me that the death of a mother and her 14-week-old baby would be met with this kind of silence had it happened in the suburbs of Sydney or Melbourne?
“We have been through this many times before. I don't want to speak at another vigil . . . I think it says some uncomfortable truths about Australia as a nation.
"That we cannot grieve the lives of First Nations women."
If this story has raised issues for you, or if you are currently experiencing domestic violence, call 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).
