Yuendumu elder tells coroner’s team Zachary Rolfe’s trial judge should be ‘speared’ during inquest visit

An audio recording of the NT Coroner’s visit to Yuendumu captured a community member asking for the Supreme Court judge who presided over Zachary Rolfe’s murder trial to be ‘speared’.

Northern Territory Coroner Elisabeth Armitage visits Yuendumu in November 2022 with counsel assisting Peggy Dwyer SC and Maria Waltz. Picture: Jason Walls.

A new audio recording of the Northern Territory coroner’s visit to Yuendumu during Kumanjayi Walker’s inquest captured a community member asking her counsel assisting to bring the Supreme Court judge who presided over Zachary Rolfe’s murder trial to the remote outback community to be “speared”.

Last November, NT Coroner Elisabeth Armitage, Counsel Assisting the Coroner, Peggy Dwyer SC, and most of the lawyers involved in Walker’s inquest visited Yuendumu, 300km northwest of Alice Springs, where Mr Rolfe ­fatally shot the 19-year-old almost four years ago.

During the two-day visit, Judge Armitage and Dr Dwyer observed cultural ceremonies, attended a “community truth-telling meeting”, participated in an open “yarning circle” and visited the house where Walker was killed.

Media present heard Warlpiri elder Ned Hargraves tell the ­coroner that justice for the community would involve a “spear across the legs” of Mr Rolfe.

“Deep in our hearts, deep in our minds … we want to see justice. We have not seen the blood of Zach Rolfe,” he said.

Following an application from Mr Rolfe’s lawyer, Luke Officer, the coroner later released redacted audio of the visit to the various parties involved in the inquest.

A photograph from an event on November 15 showed the coroner sitting with counsel assisting in front of a whiteboard where topics of discussion were listed, including “payback story”, “Kardia jury at murder trial in Darwin” and “Justice Judge Burns from Canberra conflict of interest from a Walpiri perspective”.

Justice John Burns before a crime scene ‘walk through’ at the Palms Motel in Darwin during Ben Hoffman’s murder trial in 2021.

In one portion of edited audio, a community member is heard ­expressing concerns about Mr Rolfe’s Supreme Court trial judge, John Burns, being from Canberra, as was Mr Rolfe.

Dr Dwyer explained that by the time the matter went to trial, it was likely preferable to employ a judge from outside of the jurisdiction. “I don’t know why they went to Canberra … but I can ask for you to find out,” she offered.

“I wasn’t involved in that criminal trial … but I can find out more information now,” she told them.

The unidentified community member then said: “Find out and you’ll find out. And you bring them back here and we want to spear him. Yeah.”

Ms Dwyer responded that she was not at the trial and did not know Justice Burns.

“I don’t know that fella but he does sit on a number of trials in the Northern Territory,” she said.

“Not just this one for Constable Rolfe, but on other trials.

“But what we’re hearing from you is because he came from Canberra and Constable Rolfe’s family come from Canberra and they got a lot of money that felt really not good for Warlpiri people and I understand that.”

In March 2022, after a five-week trial, a jury unanimously found Mr Rolfe not guilty of murdering Walker.

Former police officer Zachary Rolfe leaving the Alice Springs Local Court in November 2022. Picture: AAP.

Earlier this month, Mr Rolfe filed an application asking the coroner to recuse herself from the inquest on grounds of “appre­hended bias”.

In the 54-page application, Mr Officer wrote that Dr Dwyer was “undoubtedly seeking to be polite by expressing an understanding for the community member’s views” about Mr Rolfe’s trial.

“But the making of offers to obtain information for community members in response to their concerns about the injustice of Mr Rolfe’s trial is liable to create an impression that the purpose of the inquest is to meet concerns expressed by the Yuendumu community, or justice for that community, including a desire to see Mr Rolfe at least professionally punished,” he wrote.

Mr Officer claims that in another section of the edited audio, an unidentified community member – understood to be Indigenous artist Otto Sims Jungarrayi – can be heard saying “the influence of Mr Rolfe, his wealth, and his maintenance of employment within NT police”.

Dr Dwyer starts to respond: “Otto, the coroner can …”

Mr Officer wrote that the audio then breaks up and appears to jump to a response from a community member.

Mr Officer said, in the court documents, it was “not clear whether this is reflective of a ­redaction”.

The coroner’s legal team told Mr Officer that the audio was edited to remove private conversations between the coroner and other persons.

Judge Armitage’s ruling on the recusal application is expected to be released on Thursday.