Anthony Beven says NT's justice system is in crisis
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ABC News
2 hours ago
- ABC News
NT chief minister flags capping coronial spends after Walker inquest cost revealed
The Northern Territory government is considering making changes to the Coroners Act in an effort to drive down the costs of coronial inquests. WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains the name of an Indigenous person who has died, used with the permission of their family. The plan comes after the almost three-year coronial inquest into Kumanjayi Walker's death in police custody in Yuendumu was revealed to have cost almost $8 million. Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro told ABC Radio Alice Springs the amount spent and the length of the inquest "didn't meet the community's expectations". "As a government, we're responding by saying 'What can we reasonably do … to put some limits or restrictions around endless time frames and endless costs?'" The chief minister said "dragging on" the proceedings for so long "had added trauma to the family, trauma to the police force, and the community". In a statement, NT Attorney-General Marie-Clare Boothby said the money poured into the coronial inquest could have been better spent for Territorians. "As we work through the findings and recommendations, I will be considering how to ensure coronial processes are more efficient and deliver faster outcomes for families and the community." The government costs of the Kumanjayi Walker inquest were revealed in response to a question on notice during NT budget estimates last month. In it, the attorney-general's department stated almost $5.5 million of the almost $8 million total was spent by the NT Police Force, with the figure including legal costs, flights and accommodation. The ABC understands the force imported senior silks from interstate to work on the inquest. About $1.9 million was spent by the coroner's office, and Ms Boothby has since said another $557,798 was spent by the territory's health department. In its budget estimates response, the attorney-general's department also said the average cost of a coronial inquest in the Northern Territory in 2024-25 was $6,120 — calculated by dividing the total inquest spend of $1.73 million in that timeframe, by the 283 coronials that were finalised. Coronials include any coroner investigations into unexpected or suspected deaths in the NT, only some of which lead to public hearings. Comparing the Walker inquest — which did have a public hearing — to the average figure determined by the department, Ms Finocchiaro said its costs had blown out. "The question is, is three years and $8 million a justified use of taxpayer-funded money for the outcomes that [the inquest] will deliver?" she said. The Walker inquest was initially meant to run for three months but stretched out due to a string of legal appeals, led predominantly by former NT police officer Zachary Rolfe, who argued many of the issues the coroner explored were irrelevant. Mr Rolfe also urged Coroner Elisabeth Armitage to stand aside from the investigation, claiming she was biased, leading to further delays. Neither Ms Finocchiaro or Ms Boothby have indicated any of the specific changes the government may make regarding the legislation. Also speaking to ABC Radio Alice Springs, Bill Doogue — a lawyer who represented Mr Walker's Warlpiri community during the inquest — said the NT government's proposal to look at changing the act was "absurd". Mr Doogue said the coronial inquest was "necessary", "handled exceptionally well", and that scrutiny should instead be on the costs incurred by NT police. He said at the inquest the Walker family was represented by two legal teams while the police force had seven. "Why are all these [government department] teams being given funding to have silks, kings counsel, to have all the great lawyers they had?" he said. "The delays in this case were caused by those teams, it wasn't caused by the community. "The Indigenous people at the coronial were not funded at all to have lawyers — the lawyers who were there, were there on the goodwill of the profession." Mr Doogue said discussions around changing the Coroners Act took away from the real issues raised by the inquest, noting the chief minister had not yet announced whether the government would be accepting the coroner's 32 recommendations. "She's distracting from the important issue, which is that the NT police had all the hallmarks of institutional racism," he said. "That is what should be dealt with."
Sky News AU
3 hours ago
- Sky News AU
'Still on a call with someone': Details emerge in mysterious death of Australian tourist found 'with a mobile phone resting on his chest' in Thai hotel room
A 23-year-old Australian tourist has been found dead inside a hotel room in Thailand, just one day before he was due to return home. The man, who held Australian citizenship and was born in India, was discovered by housekeeping staff at a hotel in the Thepkrasattri district of Phuket on Wednesday morning. The shocking discovery prompted hotel staff to immediately alert Thai police. 'I saw him lying there with a mobile phone resting on his chest. He was still on a call with someone. The line hadn't been disconnected, and he had died like that. There were no signs of struggle or anything suspicious,' said Police Lieutenant Colonel Thanom Thongpaen from Thalang district station. 'It appeared he had been on the call for about 12 hours. The phone screen had gone dark, but we could still see the call duration and confirm he was on a call. 'We don't know who he was talking to. I tried speaking into the phone, but there was no response. The line remained active, but there was no voice on the other end. The phone was locked, so we couldn't examine it further.' The man was found wearing a black T-shirt and lying motionless on the bed. Bandages were visible on his elbow and wrist, believed to be from a motorcycle accident he had suffered the day prior. Police said there were no signs of forced entry, assault or theft in the room. There were no illegal drugs or alcohol present, only blister packs containing around 10 over-the-counter painkillers and anti-inflammatory tablets, which hotel staff had purchased for him at his request following the crash. 'He likely took the medication before he passed away,' Thongpaen added. 'There is no clear cause of death at this stage, but there are no signs of foul play in this case.' Security footage showed the man had been travelling alone, although friends, also Australians, had reportedly crossed paths with him in Phuket during their separate trips. One friend had dropped him off at the hotel the night before. Hotel staff were able to contact that friend using details provided at check-in. 'One of the hotel staff had a phone number for his friend, who had helped him check in, so the hotel contacted that friend to inform them of his death,' said Thongpaen. The man's family has reportedly requested that no autopsy be conducted and expressed a wish to repatriate his body to Australia as soon as possible. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed it is assisting the family. 'The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is providing consular assistance to the family of an Australian who died in Thailand,' a spokesperson said. Thai police say the investigation remains open pending further medical examination, although at this stage, there is no indication of suspicious circumstances.
News.com.au
11 hours ago
- News.com.au
Justice Dept to meet Epstein accomplice Maxwell on Thursday
A top Department of Justice official was expected to meet on Thursday with Ghislaine Maxwell, the imprisoned accomplice of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, as President Donald Trump struggles to quell fury over his handling of the notorious case. The former British socialite is serving a 20-year sentence after being convicted in 2021 of sex trafficking minors on behalf of Epstein, who died in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial in his own pedophile trafficking case. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche -- Trump's former personal lawyer for his hush money trial and two federal criminal cases -- was to interview Maxwell at a federal courthouse in Tallahassee, Florida, multiple US media reported. "If Ghislane Maxwell has information about anyone who has committed crimes against victims, the FBI and the DOJ will hear what she has to say," Blanche said in a statement on Tuesday. "No one is above the law -- and no lead is off-limits." Maxwell, the daughter of the late British press baron Robert Maxwell, is the only former Epstein associate who was convicted in connection with his activities, which right-wing conspiracy theorists allege included trafficking young models for VIPs. But Joyce Vance, an ex-federal prosecutor who now teaches law at the University of Alabama, said any "'new' testimony (Maxwell) offers is inherently unreliable unless backed by evidence." "Trump could give Ghislaine Maxwell a pardon on his last day in office, in exchange for favorable testimony now," Vance said in a post on X. "She knows he's her only chance for release." The meeting with Maxwell marks another attempt by the Trump administration to defuse anger among the Republican president's own supporters over what they have long seen as a cover-up of sex crimes by Epstein, a wealthy financier with high-level connections. - 'A creep' - A Wall Street Journal report on Wednesday hiked up that pressure as it claimed Trump's name was among hundreds found during a review of DOJ documents on Epstein, even if there was no indication of wrongdoing. Trump spokesman Steven Cheung called the report "fake news" and said Trump had long ago broken with Epstein and "kicked him out of his (Florida) club for being a creep." The same newspaper claimed last week that Trump had penned a sexually suggestive letter to Epstein, a former friend, for his birthday in 2003. Trump has sued for at least $10 billion over the story. Many of the president's core supporters want more transparency on the Epstein case, and Trump -- who has long fanned conspiracy theories -- had promised to deliver that on retaking the White House in January. But he has since dismissed the controversy as a "hoax," and the DOJ and FBI released a memo this month claiming the so-called Epstein files did not contain evidence that would justify further investigation. Epstein had committed suicide while in jail, did not blackmail any prominent figures, and did not keep a "client list," according to the FBI-DOJ memo. - Diversion - Seeking to redirect public attention, the White House has promoted unfounded claims in recent days that former president Barack Obama led a "years-long coup" against Trump around his victorious 2016 election. The extraordinary narrative claims that Obama had ordered intelligence assessments to be manipulated to accuse Russia of election interference to help Trump. Yet it runs counter to four separate criminal, counterintelligence and watchdog probes between 2019 and 2023 -- each of them concluding that Russia did interfere and did, in various ways, help Trump. Epstein was found hanging dead in his New York prison cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on charges that he sexually exploited hundreds of victims at his homes in New York and Florida. Among those with connections to Epstein was Britain's Prince Andrew, who settled a US civil case in February 2022 brought by Virginia Giuffre, who claimed he sexually assaulted her when she was 17. Giuffre, who accused Epstein of using her as a sex slave, committed suicide at her home in Australia in April.
