Court rules Zachary Rolfe must give evidence at Kumanjayi Walker inquest | ABC News

The Northern Territory Court of Appeal has dismissed former NT police constable Zachary Rolfe's bid to avoid questions at the coronial inquest into the death of Kumanjayi Walker.
The three judges have ruled that he can be forced to give evidence.
Mr Rolfe fatally shot Mr Walker during an attempted arrest at the remote Aboriginal community of Yuendumu in November 2019.
Mr Rolfe was found not guilty of any charge relating to Mr Walker's death.
The coronial inquest into the shooting death of the 19-year-old Indigenous man began last year, about six months after Mr Rolfe was found not guilty of murder.
Mr Rolfe's lawyers launched a legal bid in the Supreme Court shortly before he was set to take the stand at the coronial inquest in October, invoking a legal claim of "penalty privilege".
They argued Mr Rolfe could not be compelled to answer questions which could lead to disciplinary action within the police force, where he was employed at the time.
Mr Rolfe was formally dismissed from the NT Police Force in April this year for matters unrelated to the shooting incident, but has also appealed that decision and is currently seeking reinstatement.
In December last year, Justice Judith Kelly ruled penalty privilege did not exist in the context of a coronial inquest, automatically forcing Mr Rolfe to answer questions.
Mr Rolfe's legal team then launched appeal proceedings in January, asking the NT Court of Appeal to rule Justice Kelly "erred" in her judgement.
Today the Court of Appeal – made up of Supreme Court Chief Justice Michael Grant and Justices Sonia Brownhill and Peter Barr – dismissed Mr Rolfe's argument and ruled he can be compelled to give evidence.
The justices found it would be "absurd" if the coroner's certificate protected witnesses from criminal proceedings, but not lesser disciplinary matters within a workplace.
"The continued operation of a penalty privilege after the abrogation of the privilege against self-incrimination would contradict or diminish the operation of the coronial legislation and the achievement of its purposes," they wrote.
The Court of Appeal's ruling will have wide-ranging impacts on, not only the Kumanjayi Walker inquest, but all future coronial inquests seeking to examine the conduct of anyone who could be exposed to disciplinary action — such as police officers, paramedics, doctors or nurses.
During the brief hearing when the decision was handed down, counsel for the North Australia Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA) told the court "costs are going to be an issue", indicating there will likely be an attempt to require Mr Rolfe to cover the legal costs of the other parties involved in the appeal.
Justice Brownhill gave the parties 28 days to file a submissions for a costs order.
The parties also have 28 days to file a further appeal of the decision to the High Court of Australia, if they choose to do so.
Outside court, Mr Rolfe's lawyer, Luke Officer, did not indicate whether the decision would be appealed.
"Look, we'll just review the decision and go from there," he said outside court.
The inquest into Mr Walker's death has cast a wide net, as the coroner investigates broad issues including the culture of the NT Police Force, members' use of force and disadvantage in remote parts of the Northern Territory.
When he appeared before the coroner in the Alice Springs Local Court late last year, Mr Rolfe claimed he had a legal right not to answer questions about several matters, including his text messages and earlier use-of-force incidents.
Mr Rolfe is currently scheduled to give evidence to the coroner in October this year, with the inquest now expected to continue into 2024.

Subscribe: http://ab.co/1svxLVE
Read more here: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-06-28/nt-court-dismiss-zachary-rolfe-appeal-evidence-kumanjayi-walker/102528454

ABC News provides around the clock coverage of news events as they break in Australia and abroad, including the latest coronavirus pandemic updates. It's news when you want it, from Australia's most trusted news organisation.

For more from ABC News, click here: https://ab.co/2kxYCZY
Watch more ABC News content ad-free on ABC iview: https://ab.co/2OB7Mk1

Go deeper on our ABC News In-depth channel: https://ab.co/2lNeBn2
Like ABC News on Facebook: http://facebook.com/abcnews.au
Follow ABC News on Instagram: http://instagram.com/abcnews_au
Follow ABC News on Twitter: http://twitter.com/abcnews

Note: In most cases, our captions are auto-generated.

#ABCNews #ABCNewsAustralia