Arabic version: شيوخ بورت هيدلاند يرحبون بتحقيق في وفاة أطفال هوك

According to ABC News, Western Australia’s attorney general, Tony Buti, will ask the coroner to hold an inquest into the deaths of three children killed by their mother, Margaret Hawke, in South Hedland in July 2022. The decision followed the provision of new evidence not considered by the former coroner.

The children, aged 10, seven and four months, died after Hawke killed them and deliberately set fire to the family home. Court proceedings heard that Hawke had sought help from a women’s refuge the night before the killings, but the service could not accommodate the family because it lacked capacity.

The children’s grandmother, Dorothy Papertalk, had campaigned for a coronial inquest into the circumstances before their deaths and whether more could have been done to protect them. The case raised questions about possible missed opportunities by government agencies and support services.

Premier Roger Cook defended Mr Buti’s handling of the matter, describing the attorney general as careful and methodical. Mr Cook said he would visit Port Hedland soon, while declining to comment on the political impact on his government.

Nyamal elder Linda Doogiebee-Dridi said she wanted the truth to emerge and that her priority was supporting Ms Papertalk. Kariyarra elder Pat Mason said the decision was overdue, but hoped an inquest would identify failures in systems and processes and lead to improvements for children in South Hedland.