Kumanjayi Walker inquest hearings to resume for final submissions in November

When the inquest into the 2019 police shooting death of Warlpiri-Luritja teenager Kumanjayi Walker will resume again in November, more than two years will have passed since it began.

Zach Rolfe’s barrister Michael Abbott KC runs interference outside the Alice Springs Local Court in February. Picture: Liam Mendes

A phalanx of lawyers will once again pack into the Alice Springs Local Court in November for final submissions in one of the NT’s longest running inquests.

Territory Coroner Elisabeth Armitage opened her investigation into the 2019 shooting death of Kumanjayi Walker by former NT Police constable Zach Rolfe in September 2022.

Mr Rolfe was acquitted on all charges six months earlier following a five-week trial in the Supreme Court, with the inquest now approaching the second anniversary of its commencement.

In the final evidentiary sittings held earlier this year, Mr Rolfe sparked an ongoing crisis within the force through bombshell revelations about racism within its highest ranks.

Lawyer Gerard Mullins KC speaks with members of Kumanjayi Walker’s family on the lawns outside court in May. Picture: Jason Walls

They included that certificates for “c--n of the year awards” were handed out by members of NT Police’s elite tactical unit the Territory Response Group along with other accusations of racism.

Mr Rolfe’s testimony prompted Ms Armitage to call Police Commission Michael Murphy to the stand in May where he admitted to unintentionally misleading the public by earlier denying knowledge of the awards.

Now lawyers for Mr Rolfe, Mr Walker’s family, NT Police and other interested parties will return to court on November 21 for two days of final oral submissions.

Ms Armitage will then deliver her findings at a date to be fixed.

Originally published as Kumanjayi Walker inquest hearings to resume for final submissions in November