Inquest into the death of Kumanjay Presley, Kunmanara Coulthard and Kunmanara Brumby

Contributing factors

• Petrol sniffing addiction (chronic in two cases)
• Lack of accessible treatment and rehabilitation facilities
• Absence of youth services and diversionary activities
• Dysfunctional community governance preventing service delivery
• Availability of sniffable fuel
• Depression (in Coulthard case, undiagnosed and untreated)
• Cross-generational substance abuse
• Cultural confusion and social isolation in remote communities
• Absence of adequate mental health support
• No documented attempts at intervention or treatment for chronic sniffers

Coroner's recommendations

1. Northern Territory government ensure suitably qualified youth workers and sport and recreation officers be recruited and located in remote Aboriginal communities, selected by professional agencies, with appropriate conditions, remuneration, direct support network access and respite provisions
2. Commonwealth government support universal roll-out of Opal Fuel (unsniffable petrol) across the entire Central desert region
3. Commonwealth and Northern Territory governments recommit to the Mutitjulu Working Together Project for the long term with evaluation and consideration of similar projects in other communities
4. Immediate action by governments to establish and adequately resource treatment and rehabilitation facilities suitable for petrol sniffers in central Australia
5. Northern Territory government examine, consider and adopt (where applicable) South Australian Coroner Chivell's recommendations relating to petrol sniffing interventions
6. Northern Territory government implement recent parliamentary committee report recommendations on petrol sniffing as soon as possible