Indigenous woman dies weeks after giving birth and being evicted from public housing: ‘She was failed completely’

The family of an Aboriginal mother of seven who died just weeks after giving birth say the Western Australian government knew she was experiencing domestic violence and fearing for her safety weeks before her death. Mary Ann Miller died of sepsis in Fiona Stanley hospital on 28 March, two weeks after giving birth to her son and after she was allegedly assaulted and had her nose broken by her former partner. Guardian Australia is not suggesting the alleged assault contributed to her death. The case, first reported by the National Indigenous Times , has raised questions about the support provided to women and families experiencing domestic violence within the WA housing system. Mary Ann’s mother, Kaye Miller, told Guardian Australia she believes her only daughter was failed by government agencies who should have provided her with more support. The Noongar woman was evicted from public housing in February. In a statement, a spokesperson from the Department of Housing and Works said her tenancy agreement was “terminated via a Magistrates Court order, which found the tenant had not responded to requests to provide DHW staff access to conduct required annual property inspections”. Miller had been living at the house in Merriwa since 2021. In September last year, she applied for a priority transfer to the Fremantle region. …