![]() The coronial inquest ran over two weeks during August 2019. In August 2019, just days before the start of the inquest, the Victorian government announced a plan to abolish this offence and replace it with a health-based approach that will promote therapeutic and culturally safe pathways to assist alcohol-affected people in public places. Before the inquest began, Coroner English said she would be recommending that the offence of public drunkenness be abolished. Shining a light on the offence of public drunkennessĪt the time Tanya died, Aboriginal women were 10 times more likely to be arrested for being drunk in public than non-Aboriginal women. The Coroner also agreed to consider at the inquest whether Charter obligations were complied with, the extent to which Tanya’s Charter rights were engaged and if they were infringed. The inclusion of systemic racism in the scope of the coronial process is an important reminder for public authorities to interrogate their practices and ensure they are fulfilling their obligations under the Charter. It was the first time the Victorian Coroner’s Court has ruled that all the evidence before it would be scrutinised through the lens of systemic racism. On 25 July 2019, the Coroner accepted the Commission’s submissions, ruling that she would consider whether systemic racism played a part in Tanya’s death and, if necessary, make broader recommendations about how to address it. An effective investigation compatible with the right to life under the Charter must scrutinise not only the immediate causes of Tanya’s death but also the broader systemic causes at play. The Court should also interpret its fact-finding function, to determine “the circumstances in which the death occurred” (in s 67 of the Coroners Act), consistently with the requirement for an effective investigation, in this case by investigating whether systemic racism was a cause or circumstance of Tanya’s death. In order to give effect to the right to life in s 9 of the Charter, the coronial process must ensure a comprehensive, thorough, effective investigation into Tanya’s death. The Commission argued that as a public authority, the Coroner’s Court is bound by s 38(1) of the Charter to act compatibly with human rights and to consider human rights when making decisions. The Commission intervened, submitting that the Coroners Court is bound to act compatibly with the right to equality and the right to life, and to do so in this case it should investigate whether systemic racism was a cause or circumstance of Tanya’s death. Scope of inquest included consideration of systemic racismīefore the inquest, Tanya’s family requested that the Coroner consider whether systemic racism contributed to her death.
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