CANBERRA — Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe has hit out at Australia’s legal system following the announcement that no Northern Territory police officers will face charges over the 2025 custody death of Kumanjayi White.
The decision, delivered by the NT Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), has reignited fierce national debate surrounding First Nations justice, accountability, and the ongoing crisis of deaths in custody.
Hopelessness” on the Senate Floor
Senator Thorpe, a Gunnai, Gunditjmara, and Djab Wurrung woman, expressed profound grief and anger over the lack of criminal charges. Speaking on the decision, Thorpe shared the deep exhaustion felt by First Nations communities.
“No wonder people feel hopelessness. I’m starting to feel that hopelessness. Our people are being killed and no one is held accountable.”
The Senator fiercely criticised the authorities’ handling of the case, highlighting that the DPP and NT Police failed to engage in a respectful or transparent process with the grieving family before going public.
White died in 2025 after being held in a prone position by officers during an incident at a supermarket. The DPP’s decision not to prosecute has drawn sharp parallels to previous high-profile cases in the Northern Territory, further fracturing trust between Indigenous communities and law enforcement
A Broader Parliamentary Battle
The latest development follows a pattern of intense advocacy from Thorpe in the Senate, where she has consistently used her crossbench position to target systemic racism.
Earlier this parliamentary session, Thorpe joined forces with fellow independent Senator Fatima Payman and the Greens’ Mehreen Faruqi to demand structural changes to parliamentary rules. The trio has actively pushed for stricter mechanisms to counter what they describe as “overt racism” within political institutions and wider Australian society.
While major parties continue to pivot toward “practical action” policies, Thorpe remains a central, uncompromising figure of the grassroots Blak Sovereign Movement, ensuring that deaths in custody and Indigenous sovereignty stay at the forefront of parliamentary debate.
| Metric | Detail |
| Total Deaths Since 1991 Royal Commission | Over 634 First Nations deaths in police or corrections custody. |
| Recent Policy Direction | Introduction of tougher local crime laws, particularly targeting youth in the NT. |
| Key Demand | Full implementation of the 1991 Royal Commission recommendations. |
With parliament navigating highly polarised debates on justice and human rights, Senator Thorpe has vowed that the struggle for systemic accountability will continue, promising to use her platform to keep demanding a complete overhaul of the justice system.
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