Rolfe evidence in Kumanjayi Walker inquest delayed again

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers please note that this article mentions deceased persons.

Former Northern Territory police officer Zachary Rolfe will not give evidence in the Kumanjayi Walker inquest scheduled for next Monday following a decision by presiding NT Coroner Elisabeth Armitage to again delay proceedings.

Judge Armitage directed the October 23 sitting at the Alice Springs Local Court be vacated to allow sufficient time to consider and respond to Rolfe’s application (and subsequent submissions) that she recuse herself as coroner overseeing the inquest into the death of Warlpiri-Luritja teenager Walker — who Rolfe fatally shot in 2019 during an attempted arrest in Yuendumu.

In 2022, the NT Supreme Court acquitted Rolfe of all charges of murder, manslaughter and engaging in a violent act causing death, during a five-week trial subject to multiple delays of its own.

A statement from the NT coroner’s office said that the decision to delay the inquest was “extremely regrettable, but necessary” to ensure Rolfe’s application (filed October 6) and various submissions in response were properly addressed.

These documents, all released publicly on October 13, included fellow NT police officers echoing Rolfe’s request that the coroner be recused, as well as a chorus of opposing statements in support of the coroner from the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Association (NAAJA) representing Walker’s family, NT police and the Yuendumu community.

The application and submissions filed by Rolfe’s lawyer Luke Officer on his behalf accuse the coroner of “bias” that ultimately compromised the impartiality of the inquest. Officer points specifically to the conduct of the coroner and her special counsel Dr Peggy Dwyer during a two-day visit to Yuendumu, during which he claimed the court created the false impression that the purpose of the inquest was “to meet concerns expressed by the Yuendumu community, or justice for that community, including a desire to see Mr Rolfe at least professionally punished”.

Officer argued there was insufficient “distance” between the coroner, Dwyer and Yuendumu community members, including a lack of push-back during discussions about the need for Rolfe to be “speared” as a culturally suitable punishment.

Rolfe’s submission also points to alleged collusion between the coroner and NT police following her decision to revoke a non-publication order that allowed inquest evidence to feature in an internal police investigation that ultimately led to his dismissal from the force.

Rolfe was fired in April 2023 due to “serious breaches of discipline” during his policing career, including the publication of a 2500-word open letter criticising the coroner and NT police.

Lawyers for Walker’s family and the Yuendumu community called the coroner’s behaviour a sign of basic “courtesy and respect” inside an Indigenous community, while the NT Police Force said Rolfe’s application was yet another play to further delay, distract and dodge his obligations to give evidence in the inquest: “The inquest should proceed without further distraction in relation to peripheral and groundless aggrievements so that it can be brought to a conclusion without additional delay, trauma for the family members of Kumanjayi Walker and expense for the Northern Territory.”

The inquest began in September last year and was expected to run for three months. It has blown out to over a year courtesy of multiple interventions by Rolfe and his legal team to avoid giving evidence. In June, the NT Supreme Court and Court of Appeal quashed Rolfe’s appeal for penalty privilege, determining the coroner could compel him to answer questions on racist text messages he sent. The result of this appeal — albeit failed — was to delay the inquest until October.

A new date to replace next Monday’s sitting is yet to be announced.