Luke Batty inquest report: Victorian coroner to make ruling

ROSIE Batty has spoken out at the inquest into her son Luke’s violent murder saying we now, “for the first time, have federal government in a leadership role”.

Luke watched for years as his mother Rosie Batty suffered at the hands of his father Greg. Picture: David Smith

ROSIE Batty has praised the Prime Minister and taken a gentle swipe at Tony Abbott as she responded to the inquest findings into her son Luke’s murder.

Speaking to reporters in Melbourne, Ms Batty said governments throughout Australia were responding, or beginning to respond, to the family violence crisis that has claimed the life of one woman each week so far this year.

In doing so, Ms Batty made pointed reference to the change in the leadership of the Liberal Party.

“Last week — for the first time — we now have federal government in a leadership role,” she said.

She said the new Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull understood that for there to be serious change, males needed to lead that change.

“It’s a huge turning point, because we have a Prime Minister who actually understands that this is a gender issue.

“And when he spoke and said that disrespect does not always end in violence, but violence always starts with disrespect, I felt for the first time that, as a woman, we’re starting to gain the support that we need to understand that this issue requires men to lead the change.”

Ms Batty said the findings were what she wanted to hear as her former partner Greg Anderson had never been held accountable for his actions.

“Luke’s findings helped me realise, and through the journey before the inquest, Greg was never made accountable, not once.”

Luke watched for years as his mother Rosie Batty suffered at the hands of his father Greg. Picture: David Smith

EARLIER:

State Coroner Judge Ian Gray this morning delivered his 100-page findings into the death of Luke who was killed in front of witnesses, including his mother, while he trained at a suburban cricket oval in February last year.

Judge Gray said neither Luke’s mother or the agencies who dealt with his mentally unstable father could have predicted the 11-year-old Victorian schoolboy’s violent murder.

He was killed with a cricket bat by Anderson, who was suffering from a delusional disorder which allowed him to flick quickly between rational and irrational behaviour, Judge Gray said.

He called Luke’s murder a “tragic death of a young life full of promise” but said there was no way the killing could have been predicted by agencies that interacted with his father — or by Ms Batty herself.

Despite that, Judge Gray has detailed “missed opportunities” for agencies to intervene, in particular there was little evidence of follow-up after Anderson was admitted for psychiatric assessment after an incident of domestic violence. He also noted a long delay in hearing of the charges that were laid after that assault on Ms Batty.

The case had exposed flaws in the family violence system in Victoria and in responses to domestic violence but Judge Gray said none of the actions or responses directly contributed to Luke’s death.

Instead, Judge Gray lay the blame for Luke’s death with Anderson alone.

There was no formal diagnosis of Anderson’s mental health before he killed his son and was then shot dead by police.

There is no validated tool that can predict when a mentally-ill parent would commit such a crime, Judge Gray said. As a result he could not make any findings as to why Anderson finally decided to kill Luke at the cricket oval.

Rosie and Luke Batty.

“[Anderson] wanted to assert control over his son and may have had a delusional disorder.”

It was possible he was aware that as Luke got older he may have distanced himself from his father, who had exposed him to violence throughout his life.

“Luke was exposed to emotional harm, conduct engendering fear and anxiety, and he witnessed physical harm inflicted by Mr Anderson against his mother, Ms Batty,” the judge said.

Speaking about Ms Batty, he said she was a “compelling witness” who clearly was a “loving, careful and thoughtful mother”.

“Her decisions were completely motivated by her deep love for her son.”

He welcomed Victoria Police’s overhaul of the way it treats family violence cases, including the roll out of a Risk Assessment and Management Panels (RAMPS) to better assess risk, in the aftermath of the tragedy.

Luke Batty was killed by his father at cricket training.

The Victorian schoolboy was killed in front of witnesses, including his mother, while he trained at a suburban cricket oval on February 12, 2014.

Luke was not afraid of his father but as he grew older he “managed his relationship with his father carefully”, the coroner said.

“Luke was described as a loving and loveable child ... and, by his own account, Luke loved his father,” he said.

There is a framed photograph of Luke and his mother on the court’s bar table

Anderson, 54, was shot dead by police straight after the killing.

Screen grabs from police interview of Greg Anderson.

Luke Batty.

Ms Batty, applauded for her stoicism, went on to become a tireless anti-domestic violence campaigner and is the 2015 Australian of the Year.

The inquest looked at what could have been done to prevent Luke’s death. Police have said they investigated Anderson before the fatal attack but deemed him low risk.

But Ms Batty said she gave them his address in the weeks before her son was killed, telling the coroner he just wasn’t considered “dangerous enough”.

“Now he’s the worst.”

When ambulance workers got to Ms Batty, after he was shot by police, he told them he wanted to die and that his son was “in heaven”.

Luke was well aware of his father’s violence, having witnessed him beating his mother on several occasions.

In her book A Mothers Story, released last week, Ms Batty told of how her son revealed in art therapy class he feared Anderson would kill his mum and felt his father was the only thing he was living for.

During one violent attack Luke tried to pull his father off his mother, after she’d been dragged around the house and kicked.

“I tried to stop him. I tried to pull him off Mum, but I was too little,” Luke later told a psychologist.

As well as family violence matters Anderson was also facing 11 criminal charges and was the subject of four arrest warrants due to breach of bail conditions and failure to attend court.

He’d also been arrested on child pornography charges.

The views of a particular constable who was familiar with the case should have been before the court at that bail hearing, Mr Gray said.

The coroner said it was unsatisfactory that not all courts had powers to direct men to programs or connect them to services, and this should change.

“A central lesson from this case” was that every opportunity to engage with men who were potentially dangerous should be taken. There was no formal diagnosis of Anderson’s mental health before he was shot, despite repeated instances of psychological and physical abuse against his son and his wife, the coroner added.