Northern Territory domestic violence prevention minister condemned by legal associations for criticism of coroner

Australia Broadcast Center

6 days ago

Leading legal representatives have condemned the Northern Territory's minister for domestic violence prevention for what they have labelled a "bizarre and unwarranted attack" on the NT coroner in parliament.
In handing down the NT government's response to a landmark coronial inquest into the domestic violence deaths of four Indigenous women, Robyn Cahill on Wednesday said Coroner Elisabeth Armitage's report "failed dismally to hit the mark" and called her recommendations "uninspiring".
She also criticised Judge Armitage's "protracted" approach to the inquest, saying it led to "lengthy reports delivered in a manner seeming to lack the humility one might expect from an officer of the court".
Ms Cahill said only a "small proportion" of the coroner's recommendations would result in a "new and innovative approach", claiming 24 of 35 recommendations were already in place.
The NT has the highest rates of family and domestic violence in Australia, with a rate of intimate partner homicide seven times the national average.
Domestic violence prevention advocates have already criticised the minister's comments, calling them hurtful, disappointing and distressing.
In a statement, the NT Bar Association said Ms Cahill's comments amounted to a "bizarre and unwarranted attack" on the coroner and were "undermining of the independence of the role".
"Such attacks by government ministers necessarily impact a coroner's ability to do their job without fear or favour and are destructive of public confidence," the association said.
"Inquest findings and recommendations are made on the basis of the evidence given, much of which would have come from the relevant government departments."
The Bar Association said ministers and governments were "always free to disagree" with a coroner's findings and could appeal to the Supreme Court, which was not done for this inquest.
"However, for a Minister of the Crown to undermine the judiciary and the coroner in the way that occurred in parliament this week, violates the rule of law and ultimately does nothing to protect Territorians from domestic and family violence," the statement said.
The Criminal Lawyers Association for the NT (CLANT) said it was "appalled" by Ms Cahill's comments in parliament "attacking the integrity and conduct" of the coroner.
"This was not fair criticism. It was a personal, politically charged attack on a judicial officer who is unable to defend herself publicly," CLANT said in a statement.
"These remarks represent a profound violation of the principles of judicial independence and the separation of powers which are fundamental to our democracy and enshrined in the Australian Constitution.
"Judicial officers must be free to perform their duties without fear of reprisal or intimidation from the executive branch of government."
On Friday, Ms Cahill defended her parliamentary comments and said she did "not accept" that they undermined the judiciary process.
"The whole point of a coronial report, they are given to government for comment," she said.
"So, I could say, 'If you don't want us to comment on it, don't give it to us and don't ask for a comment.'"
Ms Cahill said she was disappointed with the coroner's recommendations, rather than the content of the report.
"The recommendations don't actually reflect the evidence that's in that report."
In an interview on ABC News Channel, Australia's Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commissioner Micaela Cronin said Judge Armitage's investigation had involved "great integrity and a very systematic approach".
"What I observed was the deep respect with which she did engage with those communities and families and the respect with which she was held by them," Ms Cronin said.
Speaking about the inquest's length, which was more than two years, Ms Cronin said it was an "unusual and complex piece of work" that examined the deaths of four Aboriginal women.
"[It's] an examination of where there have been failures in deaths and what we can learn from them," she said.
"So the timeliness of it is not quite as important as it is to really learn deeply from what's happened."