Federal minister backs call for coronial inquest into triple child deaths

Malarndirri McCarthy, the federal Indigenous Affairs Minister, announced her support for Dororthy Papertalk’s campaign for a coronial inquest into the 2022 deaths of her three grandchildren in Port Hedland, Western Australia. The children were killed by their mother, Margaret Dale Hawke, who is serving a life sentence for the murders and subsequent arson. McCarthy urged the state Labor administration to collaborate with families on the ground to uncover the root causes, citing concerns about poverty and neglect in the region.

Western Australian Attorney-General Tony Buti stated that a new inquest would require fresh evidence, a stance that has drawn criticism from legal experts. The push for an inquiry follows a recent exposé revealing more than a dozen children living in unsupervised squalor in South Hedland, reigniting public outrage. Aboriginal elders have called for a Royal Commission into the state’s child-protection system, and Opposition spokeswoman Libby Mettam questioned what the government fears an independent inquest might reveal. Calls also continue for Child Protection Minister Jessica Stojkovski to step down.