The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, Katie Kiss, says the coronial findings into the death of Kumanjayi Walker in police custody are a painful, but powerful reminder of the urgent need for sweeping reform across police and justice systems to fully address ongoing injustices against First Peoples.
Kumanjayi Walker, a Walpiri-Luritja man from Yuendumu, north-west of Alice Springs, was 19-year-old when he was shot dead by a Northern Territory police officer during an attempted arrest in 2019. The officer in question was found not guilty of all charges related to the death in 2022.
However, the coronial inquiry exposed deeply disturbing allegations of systemic racism within NT Police, and a culture of excessive force and impunity. In delivering her 600 pages of findings, Coroner Elisabeth Armitage condemned the "grotesque examples of racism" that were "normalised" by the Territory police force, saying she could not rule out racism as a factor in Kumanjayi Walker's "avoidable" death.
"This has been a slow, painful six years towards something that will never deliver complete justice for Kumanjayi Walker or the Yuendumu community," Commissioner Kiss said.
"My heart continues to break for them, and all First Peoples families suffering over the national shame which is Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander deaths in custody. As the coroner said emphatically, this death should not have happened.
"Kumanjayi was a loving and much-loved young man, who was failed by our justice system even before the night of his death. His history of trauma and intellectual disability were not adequately addressed during his time in detention. As the coroner found, his wellbeing was not prioritised by the officer who killed him.
"Racism is running rife in our institutions, and it lies at the heart of these shocking injustices. But today marks a powerful moment. These findings, delivered on the lands of Yuendumu People - Kumanjayi Walker's People - not only outline who, and what, is to blame, but offer a clear pathway for reform.
"Like the coroner, I sincerely hope these findings will help prevent further tragedies."
Since the start of 2025, there have been 13 Aboriginal deaths in custody. This includes the May death of another Walpiri man, Kumanjayi White, who died after being restrained by police at an Alice Springs supermarket. The national total now approaches 600 deaths since the 1991 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody (RCIADIC).
Despite RCIADIC's landmark recommendations, Commissioner Kiss says governments have failed to implement many of its key reforms, particularly around police training, community policing, and the use of force.
"Our governments must respond in a genuine way to the commitments they have undertaken to meet Closing the Gap targets," Commissioner Kiss said.
"We must urgently shift our focus to prevention, because the best way to stop our people from dying in custody is to stop them from being drawn into a system that has failed them from the very beginning."
Commissioner Kiss echoed calls by the Justice 4 Walker campaign, formed by Mr Walker's family and community, for police accountability, divestment from punitive policing, and investment in culturally safe, community-led alternatives. This includes the need for independent oversight bodies, ending the practice of police routinely carrying guns in communities, and the reinstatement of Warlpiri cultural authority and governance. Many of the coroner's 32 recommendations, at least in part, align with these calls.
Commissioner Kiss also called on the NT Government to reinstate its racism review into police, and for Australian governments to establish independent police complaints ombudsmen in all jurisdictions. She said that in order to ensure the full implementation of the RCIADIC recommendations, the Federal Government should re-establish a national body, similar to what existed under the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission.
"Without an evidence and human rights-based approach to justice and corrections, the unacceptable over-representation of our peoples in custody, and dying in custody, will remain a national shame. Today's findings must be the final alarm. This must end."
