Jacqui Lambie (Tasmania, Jacqui Lambie Network) Share this | Hansard source

In July this year I gave a speech in the chamber about the tragic death of 15-year-old Eden Westbrook in St Helens, Tasmania, on 18 February 2015. The police, who conducted a deeply flawed investigation in the days following Eden's death, stated that Eden had taken her own life, and the coroner also found that Eden's death was suicide. Eden's mum and dad, Jason and Amanda Westbrook, don't believe Eden ended her life, and neither do I. Amanda and Jason have fought for nearly 10 years to get the truth, despite gaslighting, intimidation and harassment.

Eden was a bright, bubbly and very loved young woman, and immediately before her death she was looking forward to a weekend away with two of her sisters and was planning to buy her first car. Not only was the investigation into Eden's death deeply flawed but the disgraced late senior sergeant Paul Reynolds was the coroner's associate in this case. Reynolds's paedophile activity over three decades in Tasmania as a senior police officer was exposed to some extent by the recent Weiss review. Just a few weeks ago, in a bombshell ruling, a Tasmanian coroner's ruling into the 2000 death of Helen Bird by hanging at her home in a suburb of Hobart was overturned. The same police forensics officer on Bird's case was also the forensics officer on Eden's case. Helen's family and friends have been fighting for years to get the truth of her supposed suicide, and now 14 years later the coroner has found that Helen Bird's husband was involved and staged her death to make it look like suicide.

I have recently put in a number of right-to-information applications in an effort to get answers for the Westbrook family. In one application's response, many of the pages were completely redacted. Exemptions were applied, and it was not considered in the public interest to release the information sought about Eden's death. The argument for a public inquest into Eden's death and an inquest by an external coroner and counsel assisting is compelling, and the evidence to support this just keeps stacking up. First the Tasmanian coroner and chief magistrate are still refusing to provide Eden's autopsy photos to the independent expert forensic pathologist authorised by the Westbrooks for an analysis. Just the fact that they won't hand them over is suspicious in itself, especially given the evidence from Hunter and Justine Westbrook, Eden's sisters. Eden's sisters saw Eden's body immediately before she was cremated. Both say that Eden had evidence of bruising to her face and that Eden's teeth were shattered.

Inquiries by Bridgewater police some months after Eden's death with a key witness, Kim Woodcock, who according to police was the first to discover Eden's body, suggested Eden may have had marks on her wrists and that her hands may have been tied behind her back. There is also the involvement of Reynolds as the coroner's associate, who, in Coroner McTaggart's own words, provided regular oversight and direction to the investigation. The Weiss review in 2024 into Senior Sergeant Paul Reynolds failed to deal specifically with Eden Westbrook's matter in the written report, despite detailed oral and written submissions from the Westbrooks and their former lawyer. The matter clearly fell within the terms of reference. That is shameful in itself—absolutely shameful!

The very recent decision of Coroner Webster in the Helen Bird case raises critical questions. The same coroner on Eden's case found that Helen also died of asphyxia due to hanging and that her death was suicide. There is now evidence of an inadequate investigation and forensics as well as involvement and staging of a suicide by Helen Bird's husband. The forensics officer who failed to take any measurements of the rope or the ladder or to take samples from the rope for DNA testing or fingerprints in Helen's case was the same forensics officer who briefly examined Eden's death scene. Shocking!

The Tasmania Police forensic services is the only police forensic service in Australia not accredited by the National Association of Testing Authorities. And why is the crime scene examiner not independent from police? The Bird case was largely exposed due to the diligence of Tasmania Police officer Detective Senior Constable Nikki Munro, and I congratulate her. Sadly there are no public police champions in Eden's case.

The police investigation immediately following Eden's death failed to interview critical witnesses, failed to undertake a professional investigation and failed again later, even though the name of a person of interest and possible suspect were part of a formal referral from the commission of inquiry into child sex abuse in institutions and the government response in early 2023. The more you know about the details of this case, the more dodgy it looks. There is stench everywhere, and it just won't go away. In the days following Eden's death, the police didn't even ask to look at Eden's mobile phone and they didn't examine her social media accounts. There was also an apparent failure to analyse all triple 0 calls, 131444 calls and Crime Stoppers calls around the time, and there is disturbing evidence of harassment and intimidation of the Westbrook family by police.

One right-to-information disclosure recently confirmed that Constable Smithurst did in fact view the relevant CCTV footage of the skate park and that there had been a misunderstanding in relation to information Smithurst had provided to the Westbrooks within days of Eden's death. There are numerous statements taken by the Westbrook's former lawyer, including statements from witnesses covering critical issues from the evening of 17 February 2015, possible paedophile activity in the St Helens area around the time of Eden's death and the movements and actions of key witnesses. It's very clear to me that the police made up their minds that Eden's death was suicide on day one without first conclusively establishing that there was nothing suspicious. This is clearly illustrated by the material obtained under the RTI. Police also failed to use intelligence data to determine whether there had been similar incidents, grooming or harassment in St Helens around the time of Eden's death.

I said in my speech in July this year that I considered there had been a cover-up in this case, and I can assure you I'm not backing down. I don't give a stuff what the police commissioner says. I am also concerned about the competence, effectiveness, integrity and impartiality of some within Tasmania Police. I question why forensic science in Tasmania is not independent from police and why Tasmania Police is the only police agency in Australia to not have its police forensic services—for example, the crime scene examination, the photography, the fingerprints, the ballistics et cetera—accredited by NATA, the National Association of Testing Authorities. Tasmanians deserve better.

My goodness, it's no wonder the Liberal Party is in trouble down there. The deficiencies in Eden's case are simply mind-blowing. It is time to hold an independent inquiry to ensure that this does not happen again to any other family. An inquest by an external coroner and counsel assisting, with proper legal support for the Westbrooks, should be urgently established. Helen Bird's death proved that the system can get things terribly wrong.

I once again call upon the Tasmanian government, particularly the Attorney-General, to make immediate steps to rectify this national disgrace. I say this to the Attorney-General, I say this to you in Tasmania: you can go and change laws to release those autopsy photos. And I'll tell you what, my patience is running out with you. I'm sick of your excuses. As a matter of fact, you're sitting in two weeks of parliament and you can't go in and change those laws to put this family out of their misery? You seriously are shameful! You seriously are! I want those goddamn autopsy photos. If there's nothing to hide, then release them. This is putting a real stain on the state of Tasmania, and it's putting a stain on Tasmania Police. Was a proper investigation done or not? It is a simple question, and we can't decide that until you release those autopsy photos. There is a stench up to high heaven over what happened to Eden Westbrook at 15 years of age. And I tell you what, if she was my daughter I would want to know. I'd want to know the truth and I'd want all of the evidence on the table. If you have nothing to hide, then please, for godsakes, pass over those autopsy photos.