Arabic version: دعوى جماعية تتهم شرطة الإقليم الشمالي بالعنصرية
According to SBS News, present and former Aboriginal Community Police Officers have filed a Federal Court class action against the Northern Territory Police Force, alleging racial discrimination, racial vilification, underpayment and fewer career opportunities.
The action was lodged on 17 July after mediation before the Australian Human Rights Commission ended unsuccessfully in May, lawyer Seb O’Meara of Gordon Legal said. It seeks compensation for alleged treatment of Aboriginal Community Police Officers over almost three decades, including claims they received lower pay and fewer workplace entitlements while doing similar work to constables.
Former Essendon AFL player Shawn Lewfatt, who joined as an Aboriginal Community Police Officer in Darwin in 1998 and remains on the force on leave, said he felt like a “foreigner in my hometown” after entering the police station. He alleged racism was embedded in the force’s culture and said he had witnessed alleged unlawful assaults on Indigenous people.
NT Police told SBS News it was aware of the legal proceedings but that it would be inappropriate to comment further. The case follows scrutiny of the force after the 2019 police shooting of Kumanjayi Walker and the subsequent coronial inquest. In July 2024, Leanne Liddle was appointed executive director of cultural reform, and former commissioner Michael Murphy apologised in August 2024 to First Nations people for 150 years of harm.
The first hearing is scheduled for 19 August. O’Meara said the clients hoped the action would encourage other Aboriginal Community Police Officers who believed they had experienced racial discrimination during their careers to come forward.
