The Northern Territory police commissioner, Michael Murphy, has issued an extraordinary apology to the Indigenous people of his jurisdiction, declaring police have favoured protecting “settlers” over Aboriginal people and he is “deeply sorry for the hurt and injustices” this has caused them over more than a century.
In a speech at the Garma festival in north-east Arnhem Land, Murphy warned his words could “trigger strong emotions” in his audience but said they were issued in the interests of reconciliation, healing and justice.
“Today, as commissioner of the Northern Territory police, I unequivocally say: I am deeply sorry to all Aboriginal Territorians, for the past harms and the injustices caused by members of the Northern Territory police,” Murphy said.
The commissioner has also foreshadowed making a separate apology to the people of Yuendumu, the community in which Indigenous man Kumanjayi Walker was shot dead by police while resisting arrest in November 2019. Evidence to a coronial inquiry into the case has exposed deeply racist attitudes to Indigenous people within some sections of the NT police. His promise to apologise separately to Yuendumu drew applause from the crowd at Garma.
Vowing to work to eliminate racism in the NT, Murphy detailed a litany of historical and contemporary examples of prejudicial treatment of Indigenous people by police and the justice system, suggesting they reflected wider cultural inequality. He cited the Uluru statement from the heart’s call for a Makarrata, or truth-telling, and said this was important to earn the public trust without which policing could not succeed.
Murphy attributed some responsibility to governments, saying police were required to implement policies sometimes received as racist within local communities, citing the Howard government’s 2007 NT emergency intervention, which was continued by Labor and coalition successors.
“At times, police officers have abused their powers or fall short in their duty of care towards Aboriginal offenders, witnesses and victims of crime,” he said,
Murphy also condemned the past policies of removing Indigenous children from their families as “nothing but cruel, inhumane and devastating” and causing inter-generational trauma.
“Removals caused inter-generational trauma, loss of language, loss of cultural knowledge, loss of connections to land and waters, and loss of authority structures,” he said. “These impacts play a critical role in what causes disengagement, antisocial behaviour, offending, and violence today.”
He said police were instrumental in these removals and “bear a shared responsibility” for their harmful impact.
The commissioner’s words are expected to again stir the divisions within the force exposed during the coronial hearing into Kumanjayi Walker’s death.
The commissioner said that throughout its 154-year history, the NT police had aimed to work with Indigenous people and deliver just outcomes, but that it had “made mistakes”.
“As the legislated protectors of Aboriginal people, and the territory community, Northern Territory police historically were required to defend Aboriginal people from harm,” he said. “However, there were times when we did not fulfil this responsibility. Instead, police saw themselves as duty bound to protect settlers and their property when Aboriginal people resisted their incursions. ”
Murphy said Indigenous people made up 31% of the NT population, but 86% of those incarcerated and that 96% of Indigenous youth aged 12-17 were in detention.
The commissioner said the figures reflected the “intergenerational impacts of colonisation, including poverty, ongoing disadvantage and racism”.
“I know that I can’t change or undo the past, but as police commissioner alongside our police officers, we can commit to not repeat the mistakes and injustices of the past,” he said.
“This reality underscores the urgent need for us to intensify our efforts to close the gap and address these deep-rooted causes; of dispossession and disempowerment.”
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The commissioner said he believed many of his police – and indeed many members of the wider Australian community – did not understand the history of colonisation. He announced that future NT police recruits would be taught it, “so they can meaningfully engage with Aboriginal Territorians and prevent future harm”.
His own friendships with Indigenous people had shaped his thinking, direction, decisions and leadership and led to the conclusion that change was essential and urgent.
“I stand here today to publicly commit to lead that change, to transform relations between police and Aboriginal people,” he said. “ It will not be a reset. It will not maintain the status quo. Instead, I intend to develop a new relationship built on mutual respect, trust and human rights.”
He said the community and police should never fear each other.
“And from today we must – and it will – change,” he said.
Speaking earlier on ABC24, Murphy said he had reached the view that an apology and acknowledgment was required through listening to the community.
“The police are the community and we need to understand that community because we need to work together.”
Leanne Liddle, the most senior Indigenous woman with the NT police and co-leader of change in the force, said she would work on an anti-racism strategy to follow the commissioner’s formal apology that would include increasing the number of Indigenous people involved in policing by 30% and putting Indigenous language speakers in the police call centre.
“I think the timing is right,” Liddle said of the commissioner’s apology.
“We need to recognise that there has been damage and hurt and pain [felt] by Aboriginal people and the apology will do something towards healing that.”
