The man who organised five senior NT Police officers to sign sworn statements that the racist Nooguda awards were not racist has refused to answer questions about why those five officers were chosen and what was said to them before their misleading statements were tendered to the court, the NT Independent can reveal.

NT Police lawyer Ian Freckelton was identified by two parties to the inquest into the death of Kumanjayi Walker – including NT Police Commissioner Michael Murphy – as the person who requested the statements from Meacham King, James Grey Spence, Craig Garland, Shaun Gil and Mark Clemmons following revelations the racist awards existed.

Those statements claimed there was no racial connotation to the awards which was proven to be misleading when evidence including award certificates and other material later emerged, however all investigations into the officers’ alleged perjury have been controversially ended.

The NT Independent understands at least one of the five officers contacted the coronial team in an attempt to withdraw his statement after the contradictory evidence emerged.

Further questions have also been raised about Mr Murphy’s conduct during the Walker inquest, including why he refused to comment on the officers’ misleading stat decs by directly telling the Coroner the ICAC was investigating when he was made aware months earlier that the ICAC was not investigating with the intention of holding anyone accountable for misleading the inquest.

He also repeatedly refused to say if he had spoken with the five officers – who were spread out across the Territory – before they filed their false claims.

Mr Freckelton declined to answer the NT Independent’s questions yesterday, including why those specific five officers were chosen to provide stat decs, if Mr Murphy instructed him to use them and if he was aware their statements were inaccurate and amounted to perjury before they were submitted.

“What I say on behalf of my clients will be said in court in the orthodox way, not in response to questions outside court from persons or entities who are not parties to the inquest,” Mr Freckelton wrote in an email.

He made no mention of the statements during his closing remarks to the inquest on Thursday.

Mr Freckelton also declined to say why the officers’ sworn statements were so similar and if they had communicated with each other before submitting their documents.

NT taxpayers have paid Mr Freckelton more than $1 million to represent the NT Police executive in the drawn-out Walker inquest, according to government tenders.

There is no suggestion Mr Freckelton did anything illegal.

Mr Murphy admitted at the inquest in May that it was Mr Freckelton who requested the five statements, but also did not explain why those officers were chosen or if he was involved in selecting them.

Mr Murphy would not say yesterday if he had spoken to any or all of the five senior officers before they submitted their falsified stat decs and in the days following Zach Rolfe’s revelations that the TRG handed out the racist awards. The evidence that contradicted their statements included a certificate from 2013 with a backdrop of an Aboriginal flag, as well as one award for the “most coon-like BBQ ever”, images of people in blackface and one Noogadah award given to a drunk officer for displaying the “utmost level of Aboriginality while being an elite member of the TR[G]”.

When asked at the inquest in May who he spoke to about the awards in February, after Mr Rolfe made them public, Mr Murphy said he couldn’t “exactly remember” who he had discussed the awards with, or if it was any of the five officers.

Mr Murphy initially said he could not comment when asked at the inquest on May 29 if he accepted the five officers had lied on their stat decs, because of the ongoing ICAC investigation.

“I’m not going to answer any questions…that are subject to a commission,” he said.

He was then asked directly by Coroner Elisabeth Armitage if “the matter is under further investigation”, replying that it was.

However, it was revealed earlier this month in the Operation Beaufort report that Mr Murphy was made aware back in March that Mr Riches was not examining the truth or veracity of the officers’ statements and had no intention of holding any person accountable for the misleading statutory declarations.

Mr Murphy declined to comment yesterday when asked why he told the Coroner the matter was being investigated while aware that aspect of the investigation had been concluded.

“The Northern Territory Police remain respectful of the coronial process and will continue to do so,” a police spokesman said on his behalf.

“There has been significant evidence already provided to the inquest and further submissions are due as we continue our cooperation with the process.”

ICAC delegate Patricia Kelly wrote in the Operation Beaufort report earlier this month that she is in possession of evidence and statements that “tend to contradict some of the statements made by the five police officers mainly with reference to the origin and meaning of the ‘Nugedah’ award”, but she chose not to pursue the matter further due to Michael Riches’ earlier pledge not to make adverse findings against the five officers.

Under the NT Coroner’s Act, Ms Armitage cannot include any evidence of illegal conduct she uncovers in her final coronial report and must quietly refer any suspected illegal conduct to the NT Police Commissioner and the Director of Public Prosecutions.

The NT Independent revealed on Wednesday that Mr Murphy misled both the inquest into the death of Kumanjayi Walker and the inquest into the domestic violence deaths of four Indigenous women who were killed by their partners earlier this year.

He claimed at one inquest that he needed to overrule disciplinary action on a senior officer who shared a picture of a half-naked domestic violence survivor to a social media chat group where he and other officers ridiculed the Indigenous woman because the officer’s family could be affected by an ordered demotion and relocation.

That was untrue as the officer does not have any family in the NT.

Mr Murphy also claimed at the Walker inquest that he was ordering a review into his decision to overturn the disciplinary action, but took no action in relation to that since claiming he would under oath six months ago.

The Walker inquest, which started in September 2022, is scheduled to wrap up today after final oral submissions.