Andrew Laming (Bowman, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Two weeks ago Constable Zachary Rolfe went to the Aboriginal community of Yuendumu to arrest 19-year-old Kumanjayi Walker. What followed was a shooting, which is a tragedy for Central Australia and for two families from two corners of our great nation. Walker had been in jail, charged with aggravated assault and assaulting police. Once freed, he breached his suspended sentence by returning to Yuendumu. Police had to act. As we know, at their first attempt police fled when he swung at them with a hatchet. Days later staff at the local medical clinic were evacuated for safety reasons. After a funeral, another date was negotiated. At that time, Rolfe was stabbed in the shoulder with scissors before then having the other police officer attacked but protected by his bulletproof vest. The shooting followed. It's all on video.

On Monday, the new police commissioner started work. With riots likely, the Northern Territory Chief Minister, Michael Gunner, announced an independent investigation. On the same day Rolfe's photo and name were leaked. The next day Rolfe was charged with murder and put in jail, allegedly before the DPP had even seen the body cam imagery.

The Chief Minister has offered, 'a healing process and going back to normal'—no mention of justice. What is normal, Chief Minister, in Yuendumu? Having been personally subjected to an incompetent, fumbling and ultimately abortive investigation myself in 2007, my simple question is: how extensive was this investigation and was the body cam footage seen by the DPP?

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