Marion Scrymgour calls for Alpurrurulum police station to reopen after teenager’s death
The remote communities envoy says she has asked the federal and Northern Territory governments to reopen the station, while a health services group seeks more support for women and children.
Marion Scrymgour, Australia’s Special Envoy for Remote Communities, says she has written to the federal and Northern Territory governments asking them to reopen the police station in Alpurrurulum, a remote NT community where a 16-year-old girl died earlier this month. The station has been closed since 2018, ABC News reported on 21 October. The request follows renewed concern about women’s and children’s safety in remote communities.
Scrymgour told ABC News that communities lacked police, resources and infrastructure on the ground. ‘Do young black girls lives matter? That’s what it gets down to,’ she said. The date of her letter and whether either government has committed to reopening the station were not immediately clear.
Calls for specialist services in remote communities
The Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance Northern Territory has called for urgent investment in domestic, family and sexual violence services for women and children in remote communities, ABC News reported. Its chief executive, Donna Ah Chee, said members were increasingly concerned about the lack of specialist family violence services, safe accommodation and a permanent police presence in some communities.
Ah Chee said a health clinic may be the only service able to respond when a woman or child experiences violence, particularly after hours. Aboriginal community-controlled health services already respond to family violence alongside their healthcare work, she said, and need dedicated resources for it. She also called for evidence-based alcohol supply regulation and effective monitoring in restricted communities.
Police charge after Alpurrurulum death
A Northern Territory Police Force statement said a 26-year-old man was arrested on 12 October and charged with one count of murder. Police said they believed he had been in a domestic relationship with the girl. The statement said he was remanded to appear in Darwin Local Court on 15 October; ABC News later reported that he had faced court. The charge is an allegation, and no finding of guilt has been reported.
Scrymgour said the concern extended beyond Alpurrurulum, telling ABC News that women and children in Wadeye were also afraid for their lives. She said she planned to go to Katherine and would try to visit Wadeye. Her request to reopen the Alpurrurulum station addresses police presence in one community; AMSANT’s call addresses the specialist services and safe accommodation it says remote residents need alongside it.
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Sources and context
- 'Do black girls' lives matter?' Special envoy calls for change in the NTABC News
- Police Lay Charges – Murder – AlpurrurulamThe National Tribune (Northern Territory Police Force statement)
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.