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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2025-11-13 Daily Xml
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Coronial Inquests

The Hon. F. PANGALLO (15:18): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking a question of the Attorney-General and Minister for Aboriginal Affairs about inquests.

Leave granted.

The Hon. F. PANGALLO: In May 2021, in Port Lincoln, a 13-year-old Aboriginal boy was tragically crushed to death when the industrial rubbish bin he was sleeping in was emptied into a garbage truck. Two other boys with him survived the ordeal. Police mounted an investigation for the Coroner. It's my understanding that to date that submission either has not been finalised, or, if it has, was only recently completed.

It would be fair to say that many would be shocked and dismayed at the long delay in getting this matter to the Coroner. It is my understanding that there are also many other matters where SAPOL has failed to provide reports in a timely manner to the Coroner. My question to the Attorney-General is:

1. Can he explain why there has been an unacceptably long delay in getting the report into the death of the boy in Port Lincoln?

2. Can he provide figures on how many other police reports to the Coroner have been delayed by longer than a year?

3. Will he seek an explanation and an investigation by SAPOL about the delays in finalising these reports?

4. How many outstanding Coroner investigations are there into deaths of children known to the Department for Child Protection?

4. How many of those are regarding Aboriginal children known to the department?

5. How long have those investigations been going for?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Deputy Premier, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector, Special Minister of State) (15:20): I thank the honourable member for his question. I can certainly remember those events that occurred a number of years ago in Port Lincoln. I remember spending time, not long after those tragic events, with members of the Aboriginal community in Port Lincoln. It was a particularly distressing time after those tragic incidents.

In relation to the questions about matters before the Coroner and the time for reports, I don't have figures in relation to what SAPOL do and their reporting. I am not sure if figures are available, but I am happy to go away, across various parts of government, to see if there is any information that can be provided.

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