Sickening NT Police Territory Response Group awards branded ‘clearly racist’
The Australian has obtained exhibits, revealing further racism within the NT police’s most elite unit, set to be unveiled at the Kumanjayi Walker inquest.
Explosive exhibits revealing further racism within the Northern Territory police’s most elite unit are set to be unveiled at the coronial inquest into the death of Indigenous teenager Kumanjayi Walker.
The Weekend Australian has obtained copies of the most shocking examples yet of racist language and imagery used in the annual awards of the Territory Response Group.
It comes despite some longtime TRG members having given the NT Coroner sworn statements the squad was not racist and neither were the awards.
At least one officer has provided an updated affidavit. The newly unearthed awards cast doubt that previous examples could have been aberrations, with the NT ICAC commissioner declaring on Friday “racist awards had been produced in the TRG”.
One of the new exhibits from 2007 features the words “For the most COON Like BBQ ever!!”.
This appears to support the previously disputed claims of former NT police officer Zachary Rolfe that the TRG gave an award “for the most coon like behaviour”. The letters are in red, yellow and black – the colours of the Aboriginal flag. It is called the SHIT BBQ Award and has a picture of an NT police officer with three Indigenous men.
One award, titled 2007 Noogadah Award, is a photograph of a man – understood to be a police photo of a deceased Indigenous Australian – with images of six cans of Victoria Bitter beer Photoshopped around the body.
“[name redacted], this is for expressing your utmost level of Aboriginality while being an elite member of the TRS Man your (sic) hard !!!“ the award reads.
Other evidence obtained by The Australian and which is understood will be tabled to the coronial inquest next week include PowerPoint presentations found on internal NT police systems of the awards, featuring images of nudity and ‘dark humour’.
One of the PowerPoint presentations, from the 2022 awards, refers to one officer as a ‘racist’.
On Friday, ICAC Commissioner Michael Riches said he had been investigating – with NT Police – allegations made during the inquest into Walker’s life and death. Mr Riches said he had viewed a document which appeared to be a script for speeches for the 2007 award ceremonies.
That document, which The Weekend Australian has seen, includes the word “coon”.
“A similar document, this timeappearing to be a script for speeches for the 2009 award ceremony,
also includes the word ‘coon’ and the phrase ‘expressing his Aboriginality’, apparently in the context of a TRG member being intoxicated,” Mr Riches said.
“I have viewed an email sent from a TRG member to a generic all-of-TRG email address, inviting nominations for the 2014 awards.
Four categories of awards are listed, one of which is as follows: NOOGADAH AWARD –Best effort in displaying one (sic) aboriginality,” Mr Riches said.
“A further document, purporting to be an award issued in 2015, is set to the background of William H. West’s Big Minstrel Jubilee.
“The image appears to be from around 1900 and features a caricature of what appears to be a person wearing blackface. The document is entitled ‘Winner – Nugeda Award – 2015’ and includes the words ‘Ngalbijijiman – wandering whistling duck’.”
He said some witnesses had told him no racist comments, behaviours or awards occurred in private TRG circles. Others suggested such racist comments and behaviour were commonplace.
Mr Riches said that of all of the documentary and electronic evidence collected, there is nothing to suggest that TRG awards were created or disseminated between 2016 and the present day that were, directly or indirectly, racist.
“That is supported, at this point in time, by the witness evidence I have received, most of which suggests a shift in attitudes and behaviour over that period,” Mr Riches said.
“I think this is an important point. While my investigation is not yet complete, the current state of the evidence suggests a significant shift in behaviours and attitudes in the TRG since 2016.”
Mr Riches accessed TRG network drives, NT Police email accounts and network partitions allocated to TRG members.
He said his investigation did not have access to NT Police “point in time records” before 2015. However, he has copies of the 2007 awards and describes them. He says he has interviewed more than 20 past and present officers as part of his investigation.
He does not say the documents are fakes. “I decline to annex a copy of those documents. They are so offensive that I do not consider it in the public interest that they be circulated,” Mr Riches said. “Having reviewed those documents, together with other information I had in my possession, I was quite confident that, at least in 2007, racist awards had been produced in the TRG,” he said.
Mr Riches said officers had come forward voluntarily, many to give information that is contrary to their own interests.
“Some have expressed regret and remorse for their past behaviours. Some have voluntarily provided me documentary evidence relevant to the investigation,” Mr Riches said.
Earlier this year the coroner received statutory declarations about the awards from current and former TRG members saying the Nuggadah award - the one Mr Rolfe said was known as ‘coon of the year’ - was renamed Voldemort in about 2022.
One officer, Senior Sergeant Meacham King, has now made three statutory declarations to the coroner about the TRG awards. The first was categorical that the TRG awards were not racist.
“None of the awards have any connotation to race,” he said on February 28.
The following day, after Mr Rolfe gave more evidence about the awards and claimed to have some copies, Sergeant King was asked to provide any that he had. He swore a second affidavit that he did not have any and had never received one.
His third affidavit, dated April 29, was written after Sergeant King viewed copies of the racist imagery and words on documents obtained by ICAC. There is no suggestion Sergeant King is the author, only that he was shown the material recently as part of the joint investigation by ICAC and police.
“I do not recall some of the material due to the passage of time ... but I am confident it does relate to the TRG awards,” he said.
He described the material as racist and inexcusable.
“I am deeply sorry for the content and although not having a direct hand in those ones I was present in the unit during that period ... I take responsibility for being part of the awards process throughout my career in TRG”.
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