Northern Territory Chief Minister lashes out, exploring changes after cost of inquest into Kumanjayi Walker's death blows out to at least $7.4 million

Sky News AU

3 days ago

The Northern Territory government is considering changes to the Coroner's Act following the 'extraordinary' blowout in the cost of the inquest into the death of Kumanjayi Walker.
Mr Walker was shot dead by former police constable Zachary Rolfe in the remote Indigenous community of Yuendumu in November 2019.
In March 2022 Mr Rolfe was found not guilty of Mr Walker's murder.
Coroner Elisabeth Armitage began her inquiry into Mr Walker's death in September 2022.
The inquest was supposed to run for three months, but it would be almost three years before Ms Armitage delivered her final report.
Last week, Sky News reported the cost to two government departments for the inquest had exceeded $7.4 million.
The Department of Attorney General and Justice spent more than $1.9 million on the inquiry, while the bill for the Northern Territory Police was almost $5.5 million.
The data provided to the NT Budget Estimates Committee showed the cost of the inquest into the deaths of four Aboriginal women killed in domestic violence incidents was $497,640, while the average cost for 283 inquests in 2024/45 was just $6,120.
Government sources have told Sky News the total cost of the Walker inquiry will likely exceed $11 million once the bill for the Northern Territory Health Department and other associated costs are included.
Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro said the length and cost of the inquest was unacceptable.
"It's an extraordinary amount of money and it's important that Territorians understand what these kinds of activities cost,' she said.
'The coronial process is obviously a very important process but when a usual coronial inquest costs six-thousand dollars and one as complicated as the four domestic violence women costing half a million, you can see how this one has completely blown out."
Speaking to host Katie Woolf on Mix FM, Mrs Finocchiaro said the government was considering changes to the Coroner's Act to limit the cost of future inquiries.
'I think that's something the Attorney General is looking at as part of our broader justice reform package,' she said.
'It's really important that our courts are working well and all of our statutory bodies that do this sort of work are working well.'
She said there needed to be accountability around how taxpayers' money was spent, saying 'I don't think coronials should cost this much, ever'.
"You can see how as a government we are really concerned about how long the coroner is taking to do these inquests and the amount of money she is spending doing it, because at the end of the day, it's not her money, it's not my money, it's your listeners' money Katie and we have to making sure we're spending that on advancing the Territory,' she said.
Ms Armitage made 33 recommendations in her final report, including 17 that relate to the NT Police.
Mrs Finocchiaro said the government was considering the report but is yet to commit to the implementation of any of the recommendations.