Indigenous death on the Roper Highway Northern Territory.
So, I just arrived in the Northern Territory. And, I'm heading to the Indigenous Community of Jilkminggan to go to a double funeral, two young indigenous men had committed suicide in the previous weeks. Whilst travelling on the Roper Highway, I come upon a crash, a local Indigenous lady has rolled her Toyota Hilux over, she was pregnant, and her 3 year old injured. A small bus taking Indigenous families to Jilkminggan for the funerals had stopped. The driver of the bus, a mookneegar (Kriol for white person), asked me to quickly travel back to the Health Clinic in Mataranka, to get help, (Had to drive back, as there was no Telstra phone reception).
So, I jumped in my car, and tore back to Mataranka. Pulled up at the health clinic, jumped out of my car and ran into the clinic, informing them of the accident. The Nurse on duty said that I should also inform the police. So I immediately went to the Police station. I rush in, so there's this N.T police officer, sitting behind the desk, he looks up at me, I say, "there's been an accident, an overturned car, an injured lady and kid, on the Roper Highway." Well the officer, still not moving out of his chair, reaches for a pad, and then proceeds to ask me questions, "what's your name?" I tell him, "why were you heading to Jilkminggan?" for the funerals. "What's your profession?" tell him. And then he hits me with the last question, "were they Indigenous?" And I stand there shocked, "were they Indigenous!?"Thinking immediately to myself, "what's that got to do with anything? Why even ask this? Were am I? Alabama! is this the 1950s?
I just leave, beat this cop back to the accident site, the woman's child has since died, the lady later lost her pregnancy.
And as of 2022, there are still Telstra blackspots, all the way to the Ngukurr Community. And Indigenous Australians are still loosing their lives from preventable accidents on the Roper Highway.