Latest news with #DepartmentofAttorneyGeneralandJustice
Sky News AU
3 days ago
- Politics
- Sky News AU
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
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.
Sky News AU
7 days ago
- Politics
- Sky News AU
NT Govt departments spent more than $7 million on Kumanjayi Walker coronial inquiry, Budget Estimates documents reveal
Northern Territory Government departments spent more than $7 million on the coronial investigation into the police shooting of Indigenous teenager Kumanjayi Walker. Documents obtained by Sky News show the Coroner's office spent more than $1.9 million on the near three-year inquiry, while the Northern Territory Police spent almost $5.5 million. Mr Walker was shot dead by former police constable Zachary Rolfe in the community of Yuendumu on November 9, 2019. In March 2022, Mr Rolfe was found not guilty of Mr Walker's murder. The coronial inquiry into Mr Walker's death began in September 2022 and was expected to take three months. But it was plagued by delays and legal challenges and took almost three years before Coroner Elisabeth Armitage delivered her final report in Yuendumu on July 7 this year. The cost of the inquiry was revealed in answers provided to questions asked at the NT Parliament's Budget Estimates committee. It shows the Department of Attorney General and Justice spent $1,917,860 over four financial years on the inquiry. The figure dwarfs the average $6,120 spent on 283 other coronial inquiries in 2024/25. It was also almost four times the $497,640 spent on the 'landmark' coronial inquiry finalised last year into the deaths of four Aboriginal women killed in domestic violence incidents. But the biggest cost was worn by the Northern Territory Police, which spent $5,495,078 on the Walker coronial. NT Police Association president Nathan Finn said officers had been 'pushed to the brink' by the fallout and subsequent investigations into Mr Walker's death. 'This coronial, while a necessary process for transparency and accountability, came at an extraordinary $7.4 million cost to taxpayers and has left the Northern Territory Police Force deeply wounded,' he said. 'That level of public investment must result in more than rhetoric, it demands urgent, meaningful reform that restores trust, genuinely supports the men and women who put their lives on the line every day, and rebuilds a police force that has been pushed to the brink by years of relentless criticism, failed leadership and rock bottom morale.' The total cost for NT taxpayers is likely significantly more than the $7.4 million shared between the Department of Attorney General and Justice and the Northern Territory Police, as it does not include the costs for the NT Department of Health. Lawyers for the NT Police and the Department of Health were present during most of the inquiries hearings, as were counsel representing the government-funded North Australia Aboriginal Justice Agency. NAAJA's costs were also not included in the figures provided to the Budget Estimates committee. While coronial inquiries often conduct hearings over a few days, the Walker coronial inquiry sat on 71 days between September 2022 and November 2024. This included challenges to rulings made in the Northern Territory Supreme Court. In October 2023, Rolfe made an application for Ms Armitage to recuse herself, citing allegations of apprehended bias over a two-day trip made to Yuendumu. Ms Armitage refused the application, but the legal process caused a further delay before Mr Rolfe gave evidence in February 2024. In her final report, she found Mr Rolfe was 'racist' and that the NT Police Force had 'hallmarks of institutional racism'. The Coroner made 33 recommendations in her final report. Seventeen of these related to the Northern Territory Police, including a recommendation that an 'Anti-Racism Strategy' being developed is published on the NT Police website. NT Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro said on Monday the government would 'take our time' to consider the recommendations before making any commitment to their implementation. She said the inquest was something 'everyone wanted to see draw to an end', including Mr Walker's family and the police. 'It certainly went on far longer than anyone expected or liked,' she said. 'It's now delivered recommendations that are six years after the fact, much has changed in that period of time, rendering some of them much less relevant than others. 'It's raised some serious issues that require consideration, and largely a lot of work has been done. 'There'll be much to say, and commentators will commentate – my job as Chief Minister is to make sure that as a government we're looking at each recommendation, considering all of them, and providing our response.'
