Northern Territory child protection minister Robyn Cahill says three child protection workers are stood down and will be subject to an investigation following the death of five-year-old Kumanjayi Little Baby. Both reports describe the investigation as focused on the “actions taken, or not taken” in relation to the child’s welfare notifications before her death.
Cahill also indicates that early information she received suggested there was “nothing to see here,” and she later moved to examine what occurred. The Guardian adds that the investigation is intended to assess the workers’ handling of welfare matters and Cahill raises concerns about a broader reluctance to remove Aboriginal children from their homes, saying it is driven by fear of being accused of creating another “stolen generation.”
Kumanjayi Little Baby is a Warlpiri child whose death follows reports that her mother reported her missing in the early hours of Sunday 26 April, about two hours after the child was put to bed at a home in the Old Timers/Ilyperenye town camp in Alice Springs.
