NT review finds child protection failures before death of Kumanjayi Little Baby

An independent review tabled in Northern Territory parliament on Tuesday found serious failures in child protection handling before the death of five-year-old Warlpiri girl Kumanjayi Little Baby.

Kumanjayi Little Baby was found dead in April, five days after she was allegedly abducted from a town camp in Alice Springs. Police charged 47-year-old Jefferson Lewis with murder over her death, according to The Guardian. Police said Lewis was not a member of her family and was not known to her mother. He has been remanded in custody and is yet to enter a plea.

NT minister for children and families Robyn Cahill tabled the report in parliament. The NT government commissioned the independent review after the child's death. It was conducted by former New South Wales police commissioner Karen Webb and senior public servant Greg Shanahan. The government accepted all 45 recommendations made by the review.

The report said Kumanjayi Little Baby's family was known to the Department of Children and Families, the agency responsible for child welfare in the territory, before she was born. Her mother was assaulted at least twice while pregnant with her. When the baby was 17 weeks old, a safety plan was put in place that relied on adults from the family's network to keep her safe.

The review found no evidence that police or background checks were done on the adults named in that plan. One of those adults was later established to have a long and violent criminal history, including five counts of threat-to-kill. More broadly, the report identified a recurrent pattern in which children were placed in the care of adults without a criminal background check.

An interim report released in July had said the review team had not been able to draw a link between matters previously referred to the department and the circumstances leading to the abduction. That interim report said the mother had been the victim of domestic and family violence. It found that despite repeated indicators of that violence, its cumulative effect on the child's safety was not adequately recognised and protective responses were not pursued in a timely manner.

The police investigation into the missing girl was called Operation Chelsfield. In the months after her death, the NT government said it would not commit extra funding to child protection services until it had finished reviewing how the department handled her case. Former senior child protection staff also spoke out publicly as lawmakers debated changes to child-protection laws.