CORONIAL INQUESTS —
REQUESTS
1059. Hon PETER COLLIER to
the Leader of the House representing the Attorney General:
This question is asked on behalf of
Hon Michael Mischin who is on urgent parliamentary business.
I
refer to requests to the Attorney General to direct the State Coroner to hold
inquests into the killing of the family of Aaron Cockman on 11 May 2018,
first requested by Mr Cockman on 21 May 2020, and the suicide of school student
Cohen Fink on 4 June 2019, first requested by his family on 21 February 2020.
In respect of each, I ask —
(1) Has the
Attorney General now received the advice he said he was awaiting when he
responded to my question without notice of 20 August 2020?
(2) Will he
direct the coroner to hold an inquest?
(3) When did the
Attorney General so decide and has he informed the applicant of his decision;
and, if not, why not?
(4) Has the
Attorney General provided the applicant with detailed reasons for his decision;
and, if so, when; and, if not, why not?
(5) If the Attorney General has not yet decided
whether to direct the coroner, why not and when will he do so?
(6) If the
Attorney General is still awaiting advice, is it legal advice or political advice,
and from whom is the Attorney General awaiting that advice and why is it taking
so long to obtain it?
Hon SUE
ELLERY replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question.
(1)–(6) The Attorney General's office received
legal advice from the Solicitor General on 10 October 2020 regarding the
Coroner's Act 1996 and whether Mr Cockman's request for a direction
to the coroner should be made. Regrettably, there was a delay in that advice
being provided due to the COVID-19 pandemic and other urgent matters. The
advice is being considered. The Attorney notes that research has indicated that
there is no record of any Attorney General
of Western Australia ever having made a direction of this nature under this act. The Attorney has given a commitment to
families who have made requests to him regarding inquests that any
decision will be conveyed to them prior to it being made public.