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<\/p>\nA coronial inquest into the deaths of three children killed by their mother in Port Hedland has been requested by WA’s Attorney General, after a sustained campaign led by their grandmother for answers and ongoing political pressure.<\/p>\n
Margaret Hawke was sentenced to life in prison for the 2022 murders of the children aged 10, 7, and four months.<\/p>\n
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Tributes at the burial site of the three children in WA’s north.
\n\u00a0 (ABC Pilbara: Alistair Bates)<\/p>\n
It emerged during court proceedings<\/a> that Hawke had sought help from a women’s refuge the night before the murders, but was told by staff they did not have the capacity to assist.<\/p>\n The children’s grandmother Dorothy Papertalk<\/a> had called for an inquest into their deaths, a request denied by then coroner Phil Urquhart last year.<\/p>\n WA Attorney General Tony Buti had repeatedly said he was unable to order an inquest into the killings without new evidence, even releasing private legal advice on the matter.<\/p>\n That advice had been challenged by some of the state’s top legal minds, including former Governor Malcolm McCusker KC and former president of the WA Children’s Court Denis Reynolds, who said they believed Mr Buti did have the power to order the inquest.<\/p>\n Tony Buti said he has requested an inquest into the deaths of the three Hawke children at the hands of their mother. (ABC News: Courtney Withers)<\/p>\n Today Mr Buti said he had reviewed files related to the children’s death, which he described as “heartbreaking”.<\/p>\n “I’m now satisfied there is new evidence and circumstances that were not considered by the former coroner Philip Urquhart in his decision not to conduct an inquest,” he said.<\/p>\n He said he had written to the current coroner requesting an inquest.<\/p>\n Loading…<\/p>\n Mr Buti said the scope and timing of the inquest are matters for the coroner’s court and he would not detail what the new evidence was.<\/p>\n “This tragedy is unspeakable and my thoughts have and always will be with the family members who are grieving,” he said.<\/p>\n The Attorney General also announced a broader review into the laws guiding coronial inquests, saying they needed to be “as easy to navigate as possible.”<\/p>\n Delay ‘unfair and cruel’<\/p>\n Opposition Leader Basil Zempilas said the coronial request was “long, long” overdue.<\/p>\n “It is unfair and cruel [for Ms Papertalk] that it has taken as long as it has taken,” he said.<\/p>\n Basil Zempilas says the coronial request is long overdue.\u00a0 (ABC News: Courtney Withers)<\/p>\n Mr Zempilas criticised the state government for not acting fast enough.<\/p>\n “It is difficult to fathom why it has taken the state government this long, and through that delay they have re-traumatised Ms Papertalk by making her go through this unending agony.”<\/p>\n The wider review is expected to be completed by the end of November, and the legislation is expected to be introduced into parliament next year.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the WA ombudsman released a statement with details of their investigation <\/a>into the Hawke children’s death earlier this month, but the review has not been made public.\u00a0<\/p>\n Wider implications<\/p>\n Ms Papertalk has accused the Department of Child Protection of failing to intervene in the case of her grandchildren despite repeated warnings.<\/p>\n Last month, a political firestorm erupted following reports that up to 15 children, some as young as five, were living unsupervised in a home in South Hedland.<\/p>\n WA Child Protection Minister Jessica Stojkovski admitted the department<\/a> had been too slow to act, but pushed back on key aspects of that reporting.<\/p>\n The push for an inquest comes amid ongoing concerns failing of the child protection system. (ABC News: Andrew Seabourne)<\/p>\n The minister was among a flurry of politicians who then made trips to South Hedland<\/a>, including Federal Minister for Indigenous Australians Malarndirri McCarthy, to meet with community members and elders following the reports of neglect.<\/p>\n![\"Up](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/4e2976a35f1400ad7e8311859079fd04.jpeg\")
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