NT chief minister flags capping coronial spends after Walker inquest cost revealed

Australia Broadcast Center

2 days ago

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."