Concerns over ‘perceived possible political influence’ in Kumanjayi Walker inquest following Zach Rolfe acquittal

The NT government is facing pressure to appoint a full time Coroner ahead of the upcoming Kumanjayi Walker inquest to avoid any false public perception of political influence.

THE NT government is facing pressure from the Territory’s legal community to appoint a full time Coroner ahead of the upcoming Kumanjayi Walker inquest to avoid any false public perception of political influence.

Acting Coroner Elisabeth Armitage is due to conduct the inquiry into the Yuendumu teenager’s police shooting death in September, after Constable Zach Rolfe was acquitted on all charges earlier this year.

Ms Armitage is understood to have applied to take on the role permanently following the retirement of the long-serving Greg Cavanagh in April, with no clear indication of when a decision on the position will be made.

A senior legal source, who asked to remain anonymous, told the NT News the situation was “not an ideal scenario” as it invited a false public perception of potential influence over the “extremely politically sensitive” hearing.

“If she’s applied to be the Coroner (and no decision has been made) then she’s conducting that Coronial inquest with (that) hanging over her head,” they said.

“You can immediately see (the problem with) the idea of a Coroner conducting an inquest that’s got all of those political overtones when they are waiting for the government to tell them whether or not they’ll be the new Coroner.”

Kumanjayi Walker.

The source said there was no suggestion that the government would seek to influence, or that Ms Armitage would actually be influenced, in the way she conducted the inquest by the unresolved potential job offer, only that a perception of influence could arise.

When pressed on whether the government would commit to naming Mr Cavanagh’s replacement before the hearing is due to begin on September 5, Attorney-General Chansey Paech would not be drawn on the question.

“Our government plans to finalise the appointment of the Territory Coroner as soon as possible,” he said.

An NT Courts spokesman said “the timing of appointment of Territory Coroner is a matter for Cabinet”.

It follows similar concerns that recent temporary appointments to the Local Court exposed judges to perceptions of influence by the government that hold the strings on their ongoing employment.

NT Bar Association president, Duncan McConnel SC, said hiring judges on short term contracts “does undermine the independence and the perception of the independence of the judiciary”.

“If you have people in the role who don’t have security of tenure then you have a perception that they don’t have the necessary independence,” he said.

“If it comes up before a temporary magistrate, do they have the necessary independence for someone to feel confident that the judge is going to hear a prosecution impartially?”

Acting Coroner Elisabeth Armitage.

The events leading up to the charging of Const Rolfe has been dogged by allegations of political influence after then Chief Minister Michael Gunner told the slain teen’s community that “consequences will flow” from any coronial inquest.

Since Const Rolfe’s acquittal, Mr Gunner, who resigned from the top job last month, has said he did not regret his choice of words.

When asked after the verdict in March whether saying “consequences will flow” was pre-emptive, given no coronial inquest had been completed, Mr Gunner said “no”.

“If you look back at my comments I said I can’t speak for the Coroner, they are independent,” he said.

“That was a very serious moment in Yuendumu, there had been a degree of unrest building up to the incident which included the health staff leaving. The community at the time had felt a sense of abandonment because of that.

“It was very important to be there on that day to talk to that community, to hear their concerns about government and send a message to them that we were back in that community.”

Originally published as Concerns over ‘perceived possible political influence’ in Kumanjayi Walker inquest following Zach Rolfe acquittal