Mr McCARTHY - 1998-10-13
Madam Speaker, earlier this year, well-known Humpty Doo resident, Mr Bill Mason, was found dead, following his disappearance from his caravan home. As a matter of interest, a photograph used by the media at the time of Mr Mason’s disappearance was taken while he was sitting in the very chair that you occupy this morning. Mr Mason was very proud of that photograph. It was indicated that at the time of the discovery of his body, suspicious circumstances surrounded Bill Mason’s death. Given those circumstances, I expect most of us believe that a resolution of the matter would be swift. This has not been the case.
Is the minister able to provide the Assembly with an update on the progress in the police investigation of this matter?
ANSWER
Thank you, Madam Speaker. As the member for Goyder has indicated, Mr Mason was a well-known identity, both around Darwin and of course Humpty Doo. He was last seen in Humpty Doo on 18 March, 1998 and his body was discovered in a shallow grave at the rear of the Bush Shop on 29 April 1998.
It is worthwhile to note the excellent record that the Northern Territory Police have in resolving murders across the Northern Territory. To give an example of that, the overall average of clear-up rates has been 99.35% since 1993-94 and in 1993-94 the clear-up rate was 100%, as it was also in 1996-97 and 1998-99. Notwithstanding that the death of William Mason was never reported to police as a murder, the death is being treated as a murder until the circumstances surrounding his death are known.
A clear-up rate of 99.35% I think is something that Territorians can thank their police force for. It is a very creditable performance and of course they are applying the same diligence and professionalism in pursuing the death of Mr Mason. A large team of detectives, crime scene examiners and other police have investigated many avenues of inquiry and the perpetrator of Mr Mason’s death is still at large. The death of Mr Mason has been difficult to resolve because of the lack of information about where and how he died. It is not believed that he died at the place where he was buried. The circumstances of death are such that the police believe that one or more persons in the Humpty Doo area have information that could progress the investigation to a conclusion. As a consequence of that, in the hope that we can bring forward those people to provide evidence to police, the government has decided to post a reward of $50 000 for a person or persons who might come forward with information leading to the conviction of the person or persons responsible for the death of Mr Mason.
This is not something that is done veryoften from the point of view of postingrewards. Clearly the performance of the police in clearing up murders indicates that it is not necessary because of their extremely high success rate, but in this case it is believed that there could be people out there who may be tempted to come forward. There is certainly someone out there who has information that could assist police in resolving this crime. It is hoped that the posting of the $50 000 reward will bring one or more of those persons forward with information for police.
Is the minister able to provide the Assembly with an update on the progress in the police investigation of this matter?
ANSWER
Thank you, Madam Speaker. As the member for Goyder has indicated, Mr Mason was a well-known identity, both around Darwin and of course Humpty Doo. He was last seen in Humpty Doo on 18 March, 1998 and his body was discovered in a shallow grave at the rear of the Bush Shop on 29 April 1998.
It is worthwhile to note the excellent record that the Northern Territory Police have in resolving murders across the Northern Territory. To give an example of that, the overall average of clear-up rates has been 99.35% since 1993-94 and in 1993-94 the clear-up rate was 100%, as it was also in 1996-97 and 1998-99. Notwithstanding that the death of William Mason was never reported to police as a murder, the death is being treated as a murder until the circumstances surrounding his death are known.
A clear-up rate of 99.35% I think is something that Territorians can thank their police force for. It is a very creditable performance and of course they are applying the same diligence and professionalism in pursuing the death of Mr Mason. A large team of detectives, crime scene examiners and other police have investigated many avenues of inquiry and the perpetrator of Mr Mason’s death is still at large. The death of Mr Mason has been difficult to resolve because of the lack of information about where and how he died. It is not believed that he died at the place where he was buried. The circumstances of death are such that the police believe that one or more persons in the Humpty Doo area have information that could progress the investigation to a conclusion. As a consequence of that, in the hope that we can bring forward those people to provide evidence to police, the government has decided to post a reward of $50 000 for a person or persons who might come forward with information leading to the conviction of the person or persons responsible for the death of Mr Mason.
This is not something that is done veryoften from the point of view of postingrewards. Clearly the performance of the police in clearing up murders indicates that it is not necessary because of their extremely high success rate, but in this case it is believed that there could be people out there who may be tempted to come forward. There is certainly someone out there who has information that could assist police in resolving this crime. It is hoped that the posting of the $50 000 reward will bring one or more of those persons forward with information for police.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016