Overview

• NT Coroner Elisabeth Armitage concluded that Zachary Rolfe’s actions were influenced by racism and that the fatal shooting of Kumanjayi Walker was avoidable.
• Armitage determined that Rolfe ignored use-of-force training, needlessly placed himself in danger and provided an unreliable account of Walker’s supposed contact with his firearm.
• Rolfe’s legal team plans to challenge the coroner’s findings in the NT Supreme Court on grounds that the inquest exceeded its proper scope.
• Youth justice and Indigenous legal advocates warn that recent NT bail reforms and a lowered age of criminal responsibility have sharply increased Aboriginal youth detention.
• Critics say these punitive measures undermine rehabilitation efforts and reinforce systemic bias against remote Indigenous communities.