First Nations Greens senators Dorinda Cox and Lidia Thorpe have retriggered a senate inquiry into the alarming number of deaths and disappearances of First Nations women and children.
The Senators successfully moved a motion for the inquiry in November last year but progress stalled ahead of the federal election.
The year-long review will examine law enforcement data into cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women into a national framework, as the details of these investigations are “inconsistent and ad-hoc” across jurisdictions.
The inquiry will report back on July 31, 2023 and look to identify concrete and effective actions to eliminate the causes of systemic violence as well as ways of honouring murdered and missing First Nations people.
It will also look into media’s lack of coverage of these issues.
Speaking at press conference on Thursday, Yamatji-Noongar woman and WA Senator Dorinda Cox, there will be a public and written submission process, with each state and territory expected to be provided two hearings
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women are 11 times more likely to die due to an assault and are 32 times more likely to be hospitalised due to family violence than non-Indigenous women.
Senator Thorpe took aim at the police, “racist systems” and the media for it’s role in the under-reporting of black deaths in Australia, saying the fourth estate would also be scrutinised.
