NT judge's delivery of Kumanjayi Walker death findings made a farce of her position and Australia's rule of law
Multiple news stories this week were a painful reminder of this fact of life.
On Monday, there was Hobart City Council, which knocked back calls for Acknowledgement of Country speeches to be made optional on meeting agendas.
Then, as Sky News Darwin Bureau Chief Matt Cunningham exclusively reported on Wednesday, a case that has gripped the Northern Territory for the past six years took an alarming turn.
Ex-NT police officer Zachary Rolfe has now officially lodged a complaint over the politicised and quite frankly bizarre conduct of the coroner who presided over the inquest into the death of Indigenous teenager Kumanjayi Walker.
The 19-year-old was shot dead by Mr Rolfe in Yuendumu in 2019 in a case that understandably generated a great deal of anger in a town where the vast majority of the population is of Aboriginal descent.
In March 2022 Mr Rolfe was found not guilty of Mr Walker's murder, sparking an historic and extraordinary inquest that concluded this month.
It found the officer was 'racist' and 'worked in and benefitted from an organisation with the hallmarks of racism'.
Those are the words Judge Elisabeth Armitage read out in the verbal summary of her 618-page report, based largely on evidence provided by Mr Rolfe himself that racist language is 'normalised' within the force.
The inquest heard that officers in some of the highest-ranking roles in the force invented a 'c**n of the year' award to give to officers who demonstrated 'the most c**n-like behaviour'.
There is no doubt the NT Police force has a big problem with institutional racism that is worsening tensions in the territory.
These significant issues must be dealt with immediately.
However, that is not an excuse for Judge Armitage, an unelected public servant bound to impartiality, to turn the delivery of her findings into a political circus that will make the territory's febrile social status quo even more unstable.
Her decision to accept an invitation from the local community to attend and read the summary out in emotionally-charged Yuendumu rather than the neutral surroundings of a courthouse was a plainly political act unbefitting of her office.
Her speech was the culmination of a three-year coronial inquest whose cost has blown out to at least $7.4 million.
For context, the average cost of holding an inquest in the NT during 2024-25 was just $6,120.
Undoubtedly most shocking of all was the backdrop of her quasi-political speech: outside the studios of an Indigenous radio station, in front of the banner of an activist group that called for Mr Rolfe to face extra-judicial punishment that included tribal spearing.
Neither Judge Armitage, nor any of the public servants or radio staff in attendance at PAW Media, made any effort to remove the banner, which was put up on a railing as she started to deliver her findings.
The vision of Judge Armitage delivering her speech in front of the flag of Karrinjala Muwajarri, which has called for Mr Rolfe to be subjected to 'customary lore', is hard to believe.
The coroner must act, without fear or favour, in the exercise of their functions, which include determining the identity of the deceased and the way in which they died.
Under that same remit, they also have the power to recommend proceedings to a criminal court.
A role such as this demands impartiality, which whether directly or indirectly - in my view - this coroner has failed to fulfil.
No wonder the police officer has lodged an official complaint about her handling of the inquest.
The social cohesion crisis that has taken over the territory in recent years is so severe it has sparked a series of night curfews, a change in government and a raft of tougher laws for violent young offenders.
In this environment, a public servant delivering her findings as she did drives a wedge even further into the NT's racial divide and does very little to advance the causes of Indigenous Australians.
It is a time that demands a diplomatic approach from authorities – one that puts community order ahead of political goals.
Charlie manages a team of commentators who contribute opinion content for SkyNews.com.au and is based at our Sydney bureau. He also works with Sky News' on-air hosts and reporters to make sure their exclusives and analysis feature prominently on the homepage.
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