Local Aboriginal staff should have been consulted before health clinic nurses and doctors were evacuated from a remote Northern Territory community in what turned out to be hours before the fatal police shooting of an Indigenous teenager, an inquest has been told.
The NT coroner is investigating the death of Kumanjayi Walker, who was shot and killed by a police officer during a bungled arrest attempt in Yuendumu in 2019.
Just before the shooting, staff at the local health clinic were evacuated amid safety concerns over a spate of break-ins at their homes.
The inquest previously heard that police, community elders and Aboriginal health clinic staff were not consulted before the decision was made.
Giving evidence on Friday, NT health official Helen Gill said it was an "oversight" not to include Aboriginal clinic staff in the conversation.
She agreed they needed to feel like they were part of the decision-making process and that they were not just being notified after the fact.
She also agreed that they could have important input as Indigenous professionals.
But Ms Gill rejected suggestions that the process undertaken by health officials discriminated against those staff members.
"I agree that they were not included (in the discussions) but I don't agree that I was racist in that manner," she said.
Counsel assisting said it was not suggested that Ms Gill herself was racist but rather that no Indigenous member of the local Warlpiri community was included in the conversation.
"I accept that," Ms Gill responded.
She also told the inquest that she was aware that community elders were angry they were not consulted about the decision to evacuate staff.
In evidence on Thursday, Yuendumu doctor Amy Rosser and nurse Sally Halton said despite media reports of Yuendumu being dysfunctional they had always felt safe.
At the same time, they painted a picture of a town where break-ins remained a problem and fighting between two rival factions often led to serious injuries.
Dr Rosser, who had worked in the town for seven years, said the violence wasn't targeted at health staff but at times spilled over onto the clinic grounds.
Ms Halton said sometimes dangerous weapons were involved, including axes and screwdrivers, and there had been instances where she had to close the clinic doors to ensure the safety of people inside.
The violence often resulted in serious injuries including lacerations, broken bones, stab wounds and serious head injuries.
On the issue of break-ins at the homes of health workers, the inquest was told while the frequency had reduced since the deployment of security staff in 2020, some still occurred.
Ms Halton said nurses were keen on the introduction of a health compound rather than having their homes dotted throughout the community.
"That's part of the reason why people don't want to come here because they think they're going to be unsafe," she said.
Mr Walker, 19, died about an hour after Constable Zachary Rolfe shot him three times.
Const Rolfe was charged with both murder and manslaughter but was acquitted on all charges after a Supreme Court trial.
The inquest continues.
