Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Sky News' Matt Cunningham explains the need for there to be an inquiry into the events leading to Constable Zachary Rolfe's murder charge

Transcript

Sky News' Matt Cunningham explains the need for there to be an inquiry into the events leading to Constable Zachary Rolfe's murder charge · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: A report on the front page of the Australian newspaper
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: this morning by Matt Cunningham and Kristin Short, which reports
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: that Northern Territory Police Commissioner Jamie Chalker was involved in
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: a meeting of senior police executives held just minutes before
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: detectives were directed to charge Constable Zachary Rolf with murder.
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: Matt Cunningham, Sky News Bureau Chief for the Territory, joins
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  Speaker 1: me on the line right now. Good morning to you, Matt.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning Ka.
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  Speaker 1: Matt talk us through this morning's report on the front
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  Speaker 1: page of the Australian.
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  Speaker 2: So this is based on the notes of Superintendent Kirk Pernudo,
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  Speaker 2: who is one of the senior detectives working on the
• 0:39
  Speaker 2: investigation following the shooting guest of Kumen Joe Walker. Now
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  Speaker 2: we've obtained copies of the notes that he compiled in
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  Speaker 2: the days after that shooting, and those notes show that
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  Speaker 2: on the third eighth of November, there was a meeting
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  Speaker 2: of the senior executive of an Order Territory Police Force,
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  Speaker 2: including the Chief Commissioner Jamie Chalker, that was held in
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  Speaker 2: Deputy Commissioner Michael White's office at NAB House on the
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  Speaker 2: sixth floor. So those notes basically say if I quote
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  Speaker 2: them verb agent, he gives the time code of fifteen
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  Speaker 2: thirty four. He says, nab House seated in floyer level
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  Speaker 2: six with Acting Commander Martin Dole, Superintendent Gavin Kevin Kennedy,
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  Speaker 2: private meeting of senior executive including Commissioner of Police in
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  Speaker 2: the Deputy Commissioner's office. Then thirteen minutes later, according to
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  Speaker 2: Superintendent Pernudo's notes, that he, Commander Dole, and Superintendent Kennedy
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  Speaker 2: are called in to the office and then during its
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  Speaker 2: subsequent meeting, those detectives are directed to go and arrest
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  Speaker 2: Constable Zachary Rolf and charge him with murder. In that
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  Speaker 2: second meeting, it's discussed the fact that they have information
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  Speaker 2: that he's about to fly back to his parents' home
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  Speaker 2: in Canberra, and so then and they say that they
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  Speaker 2: have to go and arrest him. Now, now, of course,
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  Speaker 2: this comes after the press conference Miss Chuger had last
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  Speaker 2: week where of course said he'd been at arms length
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  Speaker 2: from the investigation, that he was as shocked as anybody
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  Speaker 2: when he learned that Comfortable Rolf had been charged with murder.
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  Speaker 2: Now we need to make it clear we don't know
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  Speaker 2: what happened or what was said in that first meeting
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  Speaker 2: that was held with the Senior executive of the Northern
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  Speaker 2: Territory Police, and a specific question about that was not
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  Speaker 2: directly answered. When we sent that question through to Empty
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  Speaker 2: Police yesterday, Jamie Chalker has again said that he was
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  Speaker 2: had no involvement in the decision to charge Comfortable Role
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  Speaker 2: with murder. He said that it says that Empty Police
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  Speaker 2: provided a brief to the Director of Public Prosecutions and
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  Speaker 2: that they had decided that there was a primer facy
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  Speaker 2: case for that murder charge to play and.
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  Speaker 1: That we did just speak to the Health Minister and
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  Speaker 1: also Leader of Government Business and Attasha Files. I asked
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  Speaker 1: her with a this revelation really strengthens those calls for
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  Speaker 1: an independent inquiry to take place, she maintains, and the
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  Speaker 1: government seems to continue to maintain the Obviously the court
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  Speaker 1: case that we've seen, also the coronial which is set
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  Speaker 1: to take place later this year, and any possibility of
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  Speaker 1: the IKAK looking into this is enough. Have we had
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  Speaker 1: any update from the IKAK at this point in time
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  Speaker 1: as to whether they are going to be investigating.
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  Speaker 2: So I thought that specific question to the Independent Commissioner
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  Speaker 2: against Coruption Michael Richards yesterday, and the response I received
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  Speaker 2: from his office was that he would have more to
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  Speaker 2: say about that issue today. So we don't know exactly
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  Speaker 2: what he's going to say, but there's certainly plenty of
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  Speaker 2: speculation that will confirm that he is going to investigate
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  Speaker 2: this matter, that the circumstances around in what transpired in
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  Speaker 2: those four days between that shooting incident and when Constable
• 4:00
  Speaker 2: Ralph was charged. I think I know there's been a
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  Speaker 2: lot said about the comments made by the Chief Minister
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  Speaker 2: to move and the subsequent comments by Ken Flenning, who
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  Speaker 2: was the previous k Commissioner at that Black Lives Matter
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  Speaker 2: protest rally in our springs. I think perhaps what would
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  Speaker 2: be of most interest and of most concern here is
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  Speaker 2: that there are now five different seeing detectives whose contemporaneous
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  Speaker 2: notes have been made public, and in each case they
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  Speaker 2: are raising serious concerns about the haste with which this
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  Speaker 2: charge is being laid, the speed with which the Director
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  Speaker 2: of Public Prostitutions was asked for an opinion, the speed
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  Speaker 2: with which they were being directed by the executives to
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  Speaker 2: interview Comfortable Rolph, and then subsequently the speed with which
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  Speaker 2: he was charged with murder. Now his lawyer, Comfortable Roles.
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  Speaker 2: Lawyer David Edwardson, QC said outside the court after he
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  Speaker 2: was found not guilty that he said he described the
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  Speaker 2: police investigation as a disgrace and said his client was
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  Speaker 2: charged in the absence of any meaningful investigation. I think
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  Speaker 2: that's what has people concerned, what actual investigation took place
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  Speaker 2: before this murder charge was lay. Because it's clear that
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  Speaker 2: at least there are at least five senior police officers
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  Speaker 2: whose contemporaneous notes show that they believe this process was
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  Speaker 2: being rushed, and I think the public probably deserves to
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  Speaker 2: know why the process was rushed, and that's perhaps something
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  Speaker 2: that the KA Commissioner might want to look at.
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  Speaker 1: Well, no doubt we'll hear more about that today, Matt.
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  Speaker 1: Do let us know if you hear anything from the
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  Speaker 1: IKAC office. But again I'm expecting today in life of
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  Speaker 1: this report in The Australian this morning, that it's going
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  Speaker 1: to be another interesting day inside Parliament. When question time
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  Speaker 1: rolls through, I would suspect that the Opposition is once
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  Speaker 1: again going to be calling for that inquiry to take place,
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  Speaker 1: an independent inquiry to take place, so we will wait
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  Speaker 1: and see what happens.
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  Speaker 2: Interesting Michael danas to set a press conference this point too.
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  Speaker 2: I'm not sure if you or your listeners are aware.
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  Speaker 2: And he's actually said that if the IKAK, if Michael
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  Speaker 2: Riches wants to look into this, you can, But he
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  Speaker 2: has said that his opinion is that an investigation into
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  Speaker 2: this manner is unnecessary, and he pointed out the core
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  Speaker 2: process that was followed, the committal hearing that was held
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  Speaker 2: which decided that the matter should proceed a trial. But
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  Speaker 2: I think you're right. I think that this is going
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  Speaker 2: to be a focus of question time.
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  Speaker 1: Well, you know, Matt, perception is everything, and the perception
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  Speaker 1: right now, whether it's right or wrong, is that people
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  Speaker 1: are questioning what exactly has gone on before those charges
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  Speaker 1: were laid. And I think that if they if they
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  Speaker 1: want to entirely clear the air, if they want to,
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  Speaker 1: you know, make sure that people have confidence in the
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  Speaker 1: government and also in senior in you know, the management
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  Speaker 1: of the force, that an inquiry is probably going to
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  Speaker 1: go quite a way in doing that well.
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  Speaker 2: And I think what should be of concern. I think
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  Speaker 2: it's not just the perception, but also the documentary evidence like,
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  Speaker 2: let me read this one quote from Detective Sergeant Mark
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  Speaker 2: grieb and this is directly from his notes, and he
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  Speaker 2: says that this is when they're being asked to interview
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  Speaker 2: Constable Roles, and he said and the member disagreed with
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  Speaker 2: his direction due to the large amount of evidence and
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  Speaker 2: information that has yet to be reviewed. It says he
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  Speaker 2: has a conversation with two other detectives, Detective Sergeant Tieran
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  Speaker 2: Wales and Detective Sergeant Colle Phillips, when they were advised
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  Speaker 2: of the same and he said, the consensus is that
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  Speaker 2: this appears to be an abnormal situation and none of
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  Speaker 2: the members are completely happy with the request to bring
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  Speaker 2: the interview toward all the DPP's involvement. So I think
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  Speaker 2: that what we're seeing in these notes that are being
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  Speaker 2: written by the detectives working on this case something that
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  Speaker 2: raised a lot of questions. And that's why I think
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  Speaker 2: people there are a lot of people who are came
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  Speaker 2: to see this inquiry happen.
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  Speaker 1: Well. Matt Cunningham, Sky News Bureau Chief for the Territory,
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  Speaker 1: thank you very much for your time this morning. Let
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  Speaker 1: us know what you hear from the IKAC, And no
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  Speaker 1: doubt we'll talk to you again sometime soon. Throughout the week,