The National Justice Project has welcomed long overdue reform being introduced to New South Wales Parliament today to close a legal loophole in the NSW Crimes Act that will make it possible 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 specific crime occurred the sexual offender has gone unpunished.
This reform is in direct response to the 2023 coronial inquest that the human rights law firm fought for into the 1987 deaths of cousins 16-year-old Murrawarri and Kunja girl Mona Lisa ‘Mona’ Smith and 15-year-old Wangkumara girl Jacinta Rose ‘Cindy’ Smith.
National Justice Project CEO Adjunct Professor George Newhouse said this opportunity for reform with ‘Cindy’s Law’, would be a lasting 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 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 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 ultimately 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.
“Thanks to the courage of Mona and Cindy’s families – and their unwavering demand for accountability – this is an important opportunity to change the law. The NSW Attorney General has acted decisively to ensure that no other family will be forced to endure this kind of injustice. While this reform cannot bring back Mona or Cindy, it is a meaningful step forward and a powerful legacy of their lives.
“We are grateful for the respectful and compassionate way the Attorney General has engaged with the family throughout this process.
“This is about more than legal reform. It is about restoring trust, honouring lives lost, and ensuring that Aboriginal families are heard, respected, and treated with justice,” he said.
Cindy’s mother Dawn Smith said:
We have waited too long for justice for our girls. Justice that will never come. I hope no-one ever has to go through what my Cindy went through, but if they do, I am comforted that these changes might help them find justice. We will always love and remember our girls.
Julie Buxton, the barrister who represented the family at the inquest said:
“It was a privilege to assist the family of Mona and Cindy to pursue this important legislative reform. This law reform is vitally important to protect the legacy of deceased victims and their families who continue to live with insufferable pain.
“The reform is also vital to ensure sexual offending does not go unpunished in the future, particularly given the disproportionate rate such crimes impact First Nations girls and women. It is abhorrent that the law allowed for a horrendous sexual crime to go unpunished due to a legal technicality.
“I pay my enormous respect to Mona and Cindy’s family – the bravery and grace with which they conducted themselves throughout the harrowing evidence at the inquest, and their fierce determination to seek legislative change to prevent other families enduring such horror and injustice.
“It is also a great credit to the NSW State Coroner that she referred the proposed reform to the Attorney-General so swiftly after delivering her findings.”
Media contact media@justice.org.au
Media coverage
- Families to witness ‘Cindy’s law’ become reality, 37 years after deaths
The Australian, 24 June 2025 - A 36-year fight for justice leads to ‘Cindy’s Law’ and legal reform in NSW
National Indigenous Times, 25 June 2025 - Cindy’s law: reforms close sexual violence loophole
Australian Associated Press, 25 June 2025 - Cindy’s law: new NSW legislation closes legal loophole, but it’s 30 years too late for one Indigenous family
NITV News, 25 June 2025 - ‘Cindy’s Law’ follows tireless fight by families of Cindy and Mona Smith
ABC News, 25 June 2025 - ‘Always wondered what she would have been like today’: Cindy and Mona Lisa Smith’s legacy sparks historic legal reform
National Indigenous Times, 25 June 2025 - Bourke mother hopes ‘Cindy’s law’ will close loophole that let her daughter’s abuser walk free
The Australian, 25 June 2025 - Interview with Julie Buxton on ‘Cindy’s Law’ (VIDEO)
ABC News Breakfast, 25 June 2025 - ‘Cindy’s law’ – new NSW legislation closes legal loophole (VIDEO)
NITV News, 25 June 2025 - ‘Cindy’s Law’ – Legal loophole to be closed after 37 years (VIDEO)
ABC TV news, 25 June 2025
