Cindy’s Law accepted in NSW — A 37-year fight for justice leads to legal reform

Cindy’s mother Dawn Smith (second from right) with daughter Kerry Smith and grand-daughters Jacinta and Bonnie. Photo TWH

Story: Tricia Duffield and Rod Corfe

After years of lobbying, the families of two teenage cousins who died following a car accident between Bourke and Enngonia 37 years ago, will finally get justice.

A long overdue reform has been introduced to NSW Parliament close a legal loophole in the NSW Crimes Act that makes it impossible to prosecute offenders who commit acts of sexual violence, or indecently interfere with a body, when the time of death is unknown.

Until now, if it was unclear which crime occurred the sexual offender has gone unpunished.

The National Justice Project has welcomed the reform, which is in direct response to the 2023 coronial inquest into the girls’ deaths.

The human rights law firm fought for change following the inquest into the 1987 deaths of cousins 16-year-old Mona Lisa ‘Mona’ Smith and 15-year-old girl Jacinta Rose ‘Cindy’ Smith.

National Justice Project CEO George Newhouse said the opportunity for reform with ‘Cindy’s Law’, would be a legacy for the courage of the families over many decades.

“For 37 long years, the families of Mona and Cindy Smith have carried the unbearable weight of grief and injustice, and their tireless pursuit of truth has now been vindicated,” Professor Newhouse said.

“Mona and Cindy were vibrant, much-loved Aboriginal girls whose lives were tragically cut short. Their deaths devastated their families and communities. But the pain did not end there, it was compounded by a series of legal and institutional failures that denied their families dignity, justice, and closure.

“The coronial inquest confirmed what the family have always known – that the legal system and police failed their daughters and failed them.

“One of the most harrowing elements of this case was the decision not to proceed with charges against the man who allegedly sexually assaulted Cindy as she lay helpless by the side of the road. Because it could not be determined whether the assault occurred before or after Cindy’s death, the charge was dropped. This legal technicality was deeply distressing for the family and a glaring example of a system ill-equipped to respond to the reality of such traumatic crimes. […]

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