Coronial Inquest

Adjourned debate on motion of Hon. J.A. Darley:

That this council calls on the Attorney-General to order, pursuant to section 21(1)(b) of the Coroners Act, a coronial inquest into the circumstances surrounding the death of Stefan Woodward and provide appropriate and adequate resources as required by the Coroner to carry out the inquest.

(Continued from 9 December 2015.)

The Hon. M.C. PARNELL (16:42): I rise to support the motion of the Hon. John Darley. Deaths at electronic music festivals are not just an Australian phenomenon; they are a global phenomenon. A quick look at the international music press shows that young people are dying all over the country, and people are legitimately asking why. In Australia, we have had six deaths in recent time and, apart from those who have died, there have also been countless overdoses. One journalist from the music publication Tone Deaf asked why Australia's music festival culture has turned deadly.

I do not have the answer to that question; in fact, I think very few of us would. It is a multifaceted problem that will require a range of solutions. Of course, the traditional responses have just been get tougher, with more police, longer gaol terms, more sniffer dogs at venues, but even when those tactics have been employed we have still seen overdoses and we have still seen deaths. As other members have commented on before in this place, we have even seen situations of people taking dangerous quantities of drugs because they see the sniffer dogs up ahead and they do not want to get into trouble. They swallow their supply, and the consequences that flow from that can be death or serious injury, or at least the consequences of an overdose.

I do not have answers to this question, which is why I think we should take every opportunity to invite those who do have investigatory powers, such as the Coroner, to have a look at what has gone wrong, to have a look at why this person in particular died and to have a look at what we might have been able to do as a community to prevent those deaths. Whilst I appreciate that this is a symbolic statement from the Legislative Council—we are asking the Attorney-General to take action which he has been reluctant to do—I think it is an important motion for us to pass, and on behalf of the Greens I am certainly happy to be supporting it.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. T.T. Ngo.