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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 1 Hansard (20 February) . . Page.. 312 ..
MR STANHOPE (continuing):
In addition to that, senior counsel will be appointed. A coroner has been appointed-Maria Doogan-who is an excellent coroner and an excellent magistrate. She is a person with an inquiring mind-somebody who will do a thorough job. It is for the coroner to determine precisely the nature of the inquiry she undertakes.
I respect the separation of powers-it is a very significant doctrine. I respect it and I will not intrude in the operations of any of our courts, including our Coroner's Court. In light of that, I will not ring the coroner and I will not discuss with the coroner how she proposes to discharge her duties.
It is vitally important that we maintain the integrity of the courts. There is to be absolutely no suggestion that this government seeks to undermine or affect the independence of the judiciary in the pursuance of its duties in any way whatsoever. So I cannot and will not contact the coroner directly to talk with her about her modus operandi, or how she proposes to pursue her duties.
I am mindful, however, that the coroner is aware of the public interest in this proposal. You are probably aware that the Chief Coroner gave a media release yesterday on the subject, entitled 'Coronial investigation into bushfires progressing well'. It says:
ACT Chief Coroner, Ron Cahill, today advised that considerable progress has been made with the Coronial Inquiry into the cause and origin of the January bushfires and the manner and cause of the tragic deaths associated with them.
"The Coroner, Magistrate Doogan, has established a special team of investigators and is meeting regularly with them. She has also toured the worst-affected areas and conducted an aerial inspection of the entire fire area to better understand the impact of the event.", Mr Cahill said. There has been close liaison with the Director of Public Prosecutions, who will provide Counsel to assist the coroner, and lines of communication have been open with the NSW State Coroner to ensure that any cross-border issues are addressed and that information is shared between jurisdictions.
The investigation team is receiving good co-operation from emergency service managers and hundreds of relevant documents have been seized and taken into the custody of the Coroner. Plans are being made to ensure that the huge amount of information which will have to be processed by the coronial team is assisted by the latest information technology. The Coroner proposes to hold an Early Directions Hearing to deal with applications from people interested in making submissions to or being heard by the Inquiry, and to set a hearing timetable. That Directions Hearing will take place as soon as the investigative phase of the inquiry is further advanced.
"The independent administrative review being conducted by Mr McLeod will, no doubt, also provide useful input to the Coroner's Inquiry"Mr Cahill said.
In answer to your first question, which was what assurance can I give that the coronial process will be open to the people of Canberra, I cannot give that assurance. I can only repeat what the Chief Coroner has said-that the coroner proposes to hold an early directions hearing to set a hearing timetable and deal with applications from people interested in making submissions to, or being heard by, the inquiry.
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