Samara, mother of Declan Laverty speaks out on crime trauma

Sunday, March 19 was like any other day for doting mother Samara Laverty. Until it wasn’t.

Samara and Declan Laverty

Sunday, March 19 this year was like any other day.

Until it wasn’t.

That date, that conversation, are forever etched indelibly in my mind.

“He died”. Declan Laverty, aged 20.

Since then, I have had a very rapid and sometimes unrelenting introduction to the world of Northern Territory politics.

I’m not even sure I knew the names of any politicians at that stage.

Chief Minister Natasha Fyles, Opposition Leader Lia Finocchiaro.

I had a phone call from Ms Finocchiaro days after Declan’s death, she cried with me over the loss of Declan.

I received nothing from Ms Fyles until 10 days later after I responded on one of her Facebook posts.

It was a cold and impersonal conversation about what her government is doing to stop this sort of violence.

She wouldn’t even tell me if she had children. That hurt deeply.

I understand that there are probably legal ramifications if she absorbed any responsibility for what happened that night, but being a mum?

Surely that would have been okay to mention.

Ms Fyles announced on 22nd March that an immediate bail review would occur and that changes to bail laws would include a presumption against bail for serious violence offenders.

A bail review was announced, as was a Knife Crime strategy.

Samara Laverty travelled from Cairns to Darwin to hear the NT parliament debate her petition, signed by more than 26,000 people in the wake of her son's death. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

When these were released, there were no changes in the Bail Amendment Review and the Knife Crime Strategy.

This was highly disappointing and most certainly has not met community expectations.

Further, the Auditor-General found that the CM had misled the public over her statements in regards to Bail Law changes.

A petition against violence in the NT was created the day after Declan died. We achieved over 26,000 signatures, 10,000 after the CM went on radio and upset people in a matter of several days.

The previous Police Minister Kate Worden referred to this as “perception” and noted that a significant portion of these signatures were not from NT residents.

You would be hard pressed to find someone not affected in some way by crime in the NT.

The NTPFES website shows there has been a significant increase in all crime categories for the period of 30/09/2022 - 30/09/2023.

I now run the “Justice for Declan Laverty” Facebook page.

Daily I receive messages and reports from people all over the NT in regards to the crime and fear they are experiencing.

These reports run the gamut from verbal abuse in the street and shops, to house break ins, vandalism, theft, threat of assault, actual assault, people walking the streets with weapons, and an overwhelming sense of not feeling heard or acknowledged by the Labor Government.

The CLP talks a good talk, that only they are able fix crime, rebuild the Territory’s reputation, and get the economy moving again.

There is so much good that is being done in the background by the Labor Government, but it is well and truly overshadowed by the crime crisis and fear that people are living under.

Failure to acknowledge this, dismissing how people feel, being caught out in code of conduct breaches, breaking promises, throwing other entities under the bus is going to be their downfall.

If the CLP are voted in during the August elections, will they follow through?

I hope they do. Something drastically needs to change. The Northern Territory is a Territory in crisis.