The family of a First Nations woman allegedly murdered by her former partner in Darwin is grieving the loss of a future leader, a local Aboriginal corporation says.
WARNING: This story details an alleged domestic violence incident.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are also advised that this article contains the name of an Indigenous person who has died.
Ms Galminda, 36, whose first name cannot be used for cultural reasons, is a Njebbenna woman descended from the Marbarnad Marro clan, who are traditional owners of the remote community of Maningrida.
Police have charged a 43-year-old man, who Northern Territory Police says also had ties to Maningrida, with murder and other offences.
On Tuesday, Bruno Bukulatjipi appeared in Darwin Local Court for the first time.
His matter was adjourned until August and he was remanded in custody.
The ABC has spoken to the interim chief executive of the Dhukurrdji Development Corporation, which represents the Marbarnad Marro clan, Lewis Knibbs.
He said Ms Galminda was heavily involved in her community, as a "Djowanga" from her mother's line, and the community had hopes she would one day become a local leader.
"Djowanga are highly respected," Mr Knibbs said.
"They're the keeper of culture and land, and they are traditionally the cultural authority.
"I know that she was one of those people that we would like to see as a future director [of the Corporation].
"It's really, really hard to hear what happened."
Mr Knibbs said Ms Galminda had joined the army's North West Mobile Force (NORFORCE) and had recently been travelling with the unit shortly before she was allegedly killed.
"She made it to Oenpelli [Gunbalanya], before she received a phone call from her brother asking her to return to Darwin to collect him and take him back to Maningrida," he said.
Mr Knibbs said her family was still trying to piece together how the incident occurred.
Police previously called to unit
Speaking to media on Monday, NT Police said investigators and Aboriginal liaison officers were working with Ms Galminda's family in Maningrida.
Acting Deputy Commissioner Janelle Tonkin described the incident as "tragic" and devastating to her family.
She said police were alerted to the incident by nearby residents.
"At this point, the investigation leads us to believe the [alleged] assault may have been occurring over a period of time," she said.
"But certainly, once somebody else that lived at the premises became aware that assistance was needed, they called police and police were on the scene — from that point — really quickly."
The acting deputy commissioner said police had previously been called to the unit, which is contained in a social housing block in the suburb of Coconut Grove in Darwin's north, but she could not confirm how many times and whether the victim or the alleged perpetrator had been involved.
NT government keen to demolish social housing block
Reflecting on the broader impact of domestic violence in the NT, Mr Knibbs said the traditional owners who serve as directors to the Dhukurrdji Development Corporation wanted more help from the government to address the drivers of domestic violence through their own cultural authority, in light of other recent deaths in the community.
Last week, the corporation signed a local decision-making agreement with the Northern Territory government to support self-determination.
"They really want to understand what is going on and how they can present cultural solutions," he said.
Chief Minister Eva Lawler said her government also believed the Litchfield Court social housing block should be demolished, after a number of violent crimes and deaths at the complex in recent years.
"The old model of having those large units, large unit blocks with lots of people congregating there, people drinking — we understand that it is not safe," she said.
Caitlin Weatherby-Fell, chief executive of Top End Women's Legal Service, said that was "absolutely not the solution".
"What we need as a community is investment across the sector," she said.
"We are not going to beat this problem simply by knocking down a set of flats.
"That's only going to exacerbate the problem by forcing more and more people into homelessness and into escalated situations."
'Turning away more women than we help'
The NT coroner has recently finished hearing evidence into an inquest into the deaths of four First Nations women, which heard evidence of a severely under-resourced domestic, family and sexual violence sector and first responders.
Ms Weatherby-Fell said the sector was "so disappointed" the NT government had underspent its domestic violence unit's budget by $4 million this financial year.
"We are turning away more women than we are able to help," she said.
Ms Lawler said the underspend was due to challenges recruiting workers to fill roles.
She said the NT government "can put more money into DV and will continue to do that".
"We were lobbying the federal government, we will continue to lobby the federal government for needs-based funding," she said.
Posted, updated
