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Speaker 1: A report on the front page of the Australian newspaper

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Speaker 1: this morning by Matt Cunningham and Kristin Short, which reports

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Speaker 1: that Northern Territory Police Commissioner Jamie Chalker was involved in

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Speaker 1: a meeting of senior police executives held just minutes before

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Speaker 1: detectives were directed to charge Constable Zachary Rolf with murder.

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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

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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

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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,