WA government orders inquest into Port Hedland murders

Western Australia’s attorney general has ordered the state’s coroner to hold an inquest into the deaths of three children at the hands of their mother in Port Hedland in 2022.

On Thursday, following sustained pressure over the issue, Tony Buti revealed he was now satisfied there was “new evidence and circumstances that were not considered by the former coroner Philip Urquhart in his decision not to conduct an inquest”.

Buti said he had written to the current coroner to direct her to hold an inquest into the children’s deaths.

“Under the coroner’s act, the attorney general has very limited power to direct for an inquest to be held following a decision by a coroner not to hold an inquest,” he said.

“I’ve made public the legal advice provided to me on the powers that I have.

“To reiterate, the advice is that is if there is a material change in circumstances about the cause of manner of death that makes it necessary and desirable, in the interest of justice, that an inquest is held and that is brought to my attention, I can consider whether to exercise the power to direct an inquest.

“I have personally reviewed the files from the Department of Communities, and police, and they are truly heartbreaking.

“I am satisfied after reviewing those documents, those files, that there is new evidence and circumstances that were not considered by former coroner [Phil Urquhart] when he made his determination not to hold the inquest.”

Margaret Hawke killed her children, aged 10, seven, and four months old, at their Port Hedland home in 2022.

Former coroner Phil Urquhart denied the request for an inquest in 2025, but the Hawke children were again thrust into the spotlight after a series of reports by The Australian found multiple warnings to child protection workers in the Pilbara were not heeded in the lead up to their murders.

The children’s grandmother, Dorothy Papertalk, has maintained an impassioned campaign for a coroner’s inquest into their deaths.

“The scope and timing of the inquest are now matters for the coroner’s court,” Buti said.

“I will not detail in the media what that evidence is, as that has to be considered now by the coroner’s court.”

Buti revealed the development alongside the announcement the government would embark on a short review of the Coroners Act.

Amendments to the act are already under way, and Buti said the review would run parallel with those amendments, and its findings would be incorporated into the legislation.

The “short review” was expected to be completed by the end of November.

Buti’s announcement was the first topic to be aired as question time began in parliament this afternoon.

Opposition Leader Basil Zempilas demanded to know why it had “taken more than a year to respond to the pleas of the Hawke family and the community to finally order this much overdue inquest”.

WA Premier Roger Cook said the deaths of the Hawke children was “an unspeakable tragedy”, and the government was “moving appropriately” to provide an inquest.

“The Attorney General has made it quite clear: the only way he can instruct a coroner who has already made a decision, a decision taken some years ago in relation to an inquest, is if new information has come to light, and obviously we understand that there’s a lot of community focus on this particular issue at the moment,” he said, speaking over interjections from the other side of the chamber.

Zempilas asked if Cook would commit to support the opposition’s amendment to the Coroner’s Act, “to put the attorney general’s power to direct an inquest beyond doubt once and for all”.

“In relation to the substantive point that the member raised: no,” Cook replied.