You can’t handle the truth!
George Newhouse
In this compelling guest post George Newhouse at @the_northern_myth argues that If the NT wants to silence coroners from exposing systemic racism, then the Federal Government must step in.
The Northern Territory Government is preparing a response to Coroner Elisabeth Armitage’s detailed inquest findings into the 2019 police shooting of Kumanjayi Walker.
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Any plan to undermine the coroner is not just dangerous, it is legally regressive, morally indefensible, and in direct conflict with the lessons Australia promised to learn from the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody nearly 35 years ago.
As the lawyer representing the grieving family of Kumanjayi White (another recent death in custody), the government’s approach risks undermining the outcome of that inquest before it has even begun.
Initial responses to the Kumanjayi Walker findings and recommendations suggest that the NT government wants to turn away from the uncomfortable truths about how First Nations people are treated by institutions, like the police, that should be free from discrimination.
Read the rest of this article at The Northern Myth.