A Northern Territory policeman’s long-awaited trial for allegedly murdering an Indigenous man during an outback arrest could be delayed for an appeal hearing.

August 23, 2021

A Northern Territory policeman accused of murdering an Aboriginal teenager during an outback arrest will have to wait until an hour before his trial to learn if it will go ahead.

Constable Zachary Rolfe, 30, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Kumanjayi Walker, 19, in November 2019.

The teenager was shot three times in the remote community of Yuendumu, about 290km northwest of Alice Springs.

Rolfe is scheduled to stand trial in the NT Supreme Court at 10am (ACST) on Monday.

But it could be postponed after the Crown applied to the High Court in Canberra on Friday for a stay order.

Justice Jacqueline Gleeson reserved her decision on the stay until 9.30am (AEST) on Monday, just 60 minutes before Rolfe’s trial is due to start.

The prosecution wants the trial postponed so it can seek leave from the High Court to appeal a recent legal decision by a full bench of the NT Supreme Court related to Rolfe’s defence

It applied to NT Supreme Court Acting-Justice Dean Mildren on Thursday to delay the start of the trial so it could pursue the appeal but was refused.

Prosecutor Philip Strickland SC says the decision to allow Rolfe’s legal team to use three separate defences before the jury, including the immunity clause in the NT Police Administration Act, was wrong.

He said it was not consistent with the criminal code which required a police officer’s actions to be reasonable for immunity to apply.

He said the criminal code’s reasonableness provision was designed to protect the public from the excessive use of force.

The interpretation of the act is central to Rolfe’s trial.