The suspected murder of Kumanjayi Little Baby sparks debate among the country's top leaders.
WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this story contains the image of a person who is deceased.
Liberal Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price labelled the suspected murder of her niece, Kumanjayi Little Baby, a "national disgrace" as she called for an independent inquiry.
The five-year-old girl was found dead yesterday, about five days after going missing from an Alice Springs town camp.
In an opinion piece titled "tragic case highlights a national disgrace" published in The Australian, Price said the town camp at the centre of the incident had a history of violence, including the fatal stabbing of her niece.
READ MORE: 'Coming for you': Police warning to associates of suspected child killer
"For too long, there has been a reluctance to speak plainly about the conditions in and around town camps," she wrote.
"In reality, too many have become environments where safety is not guaranteed, particularly for children."
Price called for an independent inquiry into the circumstances of the death and broader conditions, including the governance of town camps and the role of organisations responsible for their upkeep.
Opposition Leader Angus Taylor similarly told Sky News the federal government needs to "get out of denial" about the situation in Alice Springs and other communities.
"It's the denial that has led us to this place where people aren't prepared to have honest conversations about the state of affairs in our town camps, and what options there are to address it," he said.
"There is violence going on. There is sexual violence.
"We took to the last election a proposal for a royal commission, an independent inquiry into sexual abuse and violence in these communities, and we still think that that is something that needs to be addressed."
READ MORE: Family's message after five-year-old murdered
Taylor's comments came as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called for calm after 400 people gathered outside Alice Springs Hospital last night, where 47-year-old Jefferson Lewis was taken after he was arrested by police.
Albanese said he understood the community's anger and frustration, but called for them to come together.
"It breaks your heart," he said of Kumanjayi Little Baby's death to reporters in Sydney.
"There's meetings there on the ground, as we speak right now, bringing together community leaders, the police, the health workers, the people at the hospital who had to deal with what occurred last night.
"We want to see the community come together, but we certainly understand people's anger and frustration and that was expressed."
Indigenous Australians Minister Malarndirri McCarthy also called for calm earlier today, telling the community to allow police to undergo proper processes.
"There needs to be calm and there needs to be a proper process now in terms of this criminal investigation and it must not be jeopardised by foolishness in terms of the work that has to be done for police and by police to get this investigation done appropriately," she told the ABC.
READ MORE: Jacinta Price reveals she's aunt of NT girl believed to have been abducted
Independent senator and leader of the Blak Sovereign Movement, Lidia Thorpe, said it was a time of "deep grief" for her community and called for the government to address broad issues like extreme poverty and a lack of basic services and support.
She, however, warned against any interventionist approaches.
"Governments must do more to ensure communities have the resources and authority to determine their own solutions," she said in a statement.
"Our families hold the answers and must be trusted and empowered to lead. What we do not need is a return to the interventionist approaches of the past."
Thorpe said the death of Kumanjayi Little Baby highlighted "serious failures" in how authorities respond to the domestic violence risk to Indigenous women and children.
She threw her support behind National Commissioner for Indigenous Children and Young People Sue-Anne Hunter's call for an investigation into NT Corrections.
"This was a known perpetrator. There are questions about how this could happen so soon after his release from custody," she said.
For 24/7 crisis support run by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, contact 13YARN (13 92 76).
Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732)
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