Kimberley community of Looma reflects on the lasting impact of a 10-year-old's suicide
/ By Emily Jane SmithIf you ask Looma residents what they remember about March 2016, most will say the screaming.
On an otherwise quiet afternoon in the remote Kimberley community, 2,400km north of Perth, a 10-year old-girl took her own life.
The girl's death, along with those of 12 other children and teenagers across the Kimberley, formed the basis for a 2017 coronial inquest, the results of which will be released today.
Looma community leader Shannon Killer lived next door to where the young girl died.
"I heard this terrible screaming and I could see everybody running over to that house," he said.
"They were crying to just 'help her, help her'."
He said there was an atmosphere of total panic within the community. Children, including his own, witnessed the tragedy.
"It was the biggest mob of kids, of all different ages. They were just screaming and crying," Mr Killer said.
"They were fighting for her life."
'I'll never forget that afternoon'
Looma police officer-in-charge Neville Ripp was one of the first responders.
The senior sergeant is one of two police officers based in Looma and it was his first week at his new posting.
"To attend something like that — even as a 36-year veteran in the police — you just never get over those things," he said.
"And probably until the day that I leave this planet I'll never forget that afternoon."
Senior Sergeant Ripp said the days following the girl's death were particularly traumatic.
"Holding that community together and investigating it at the same time was hard," he said.
"But even though it was a tragedy, if there are any positives it's that it's a wake up call."
A tragedy condemned
At the time, Looma — a remote community of 500 mostly Aboriginal people — was virtually unknown outside the Kimberley.
But echoes of the grief were heard across Australia and the town was thrust into the national spotlight.
Politicians and advocates condemned the tragedy, while national media, government workers and advocates flooded to the community.
Those five children, aged between 10 and 13, were among the cluster of Kimberley suicides that provided the groundswell for a fresh inquiry.
"That statistic is not only heartbreaking but it is simply unacceptable that it should happen in a developed nation such as Australia," counsel assisting the inquest, Philip Urquhart, said during the hearings.
But the issue is not a new one. A 2008 inquest into 22 deaths in the Kimberley recommended substantive changes to how money and support was delivered to the region's remote communities.
But three years on from the girl's death and nearly two from the 2017 inquest, Looma community chief executive Benedicta Pindan is sceptical about the likelihood of genuine change.
After the initial flood of publicity spurred by the tragedy and the inquest, she said there had been little concrete support.
"What's being done to try and prevent these things? Well, there's nothing, not in Looma anyway," Ms Pindan said.
"There has to be action behind their words, not just saying 'Yes, they've done an inquest'. There has to be action."
Government defends response, record
In response to Ms Pindan's criticism, the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet said $1.2 billion had been spent on primary health networks across Australia for suicide prevention and mental health.
Indigenous Affairs Minister Nigel Scullion said a suicide bereavement response service also provided Looma residents support each day for the two weeks following the girl's death.
Senator Scullion said Aboriginal mental health first aid training was delivered in Looma, while the Derby Suicide Prevention Network continued to support the community's needs.
But Ms Pindan said little of the Government's financial commitment had been felt on the ground.
"They are pouring in all these billions of dollars into Indigenous Australia, and then they speak about all these issues and stats that are rising," she said.
"We call them 'tick the box people'; they come in and ask 'what do you reckon is going to make this stop?'
"We've given them the answer, but nothing has come back, no feedback from it at all."
She feared much of the funding was being eaten up by bureaucratic and administrative costs.
Support for kids and on-ground services needed
Looma's leaders — including Ms Pindan and Mr Killer — remain desperate to help the children in their community.
A functioning youth centre, more resources for children's support and education and an on-the-ground mental health service remain the key priorities.
"You have to invest into these communities, because there are hundreds and hundreds of kids that have nowhere to go," Ms Pindan said.
Mr Killer said the children needed to feel cared for.
"We need something for the kids to do, so they feel wanted and important," he said.
But fears for the safety of kids in his community kept him up at night, and he was afraid he would have to relive that afternoon in March 2016.
"Because it's going to happen again, no doubt."