'I'm sorry': ACT's first outdoor Coroners Court opens with apology

Almost five years have passed since Nathan Booth's body was discovered half-submerged by the banks of the Murrumbidgee River.

An inquest into his death began on Wednesday in the ACT's first outdoor hearing.

In an unusual move, the coroner Ken Archer convened his court not within the city but next to the flowing river at Pine Island Reserve in Tuggeranong.

Mr Archer opened with a heartfelt apology to the Booth family about the long delay in beginning the inquest.

He said he felt "a degree of nervousness" and anxiety standing before them.

"Nathan's case had been left to languish for a period of time," Mr Archer said.

"For that I say to you publicly now I am sorry about that and that shouldn't have been allowed to happen."

The proceedings took place about five kilometres from where Nathan Booth's body was eventually found by two schoolboys in December 2019.

Inquest opens

Nathan Booth was about to turn 40 a few weeks before he went missing.

He was last seen at at 3.08pm on June 27, 2019, during a visit to the methadone clinic at Canberra Hospital.

Counsel assisting the coroner Joe Kellaway said Mr Booth didn't have a social media presence, didn't own a car and didn't have a phone.

"He quite literally disappeared without a word, without a trace," Mr Kellaway said.

His body was discovered months later, on December 1, by students who were going fishing. An autopsy was not able to determine the cause of Booth's death.

However, he was found to have a broken ankle and an unused phone in the pocket of his tracksuit pants.

On Wednesday morning, eight court staff stood behind Mr Archer as he spoke into a microphone recording the court's proceedings.

Mr Booth's mother Rayleen, sister Deanne, three aunties and two relatives were present.

Those in attendance were welcomed to country by Ngunnawal, Wiradjuri and Kamilaroi woman Lynnice Church.

"This is a place of healing; it's a place that gives life. This is a hard day, " Ms Church said. She prayed there would be justice for the Nathan Booth and the family.

Mr Archer said he knew the family when he was a barrister and wanted to do something to address the "hurt".

He wanted to create a process that was "safe" and comfortable for family members where they would have "a place in the formality" of the inquest.

The outdoor site was chosen after consultation with the Booth family as a place of "personal and emotional" significance.

"I carried the responsibility of the court doing their job properly and I don't think that job had been done right," Mr Archer said.

He had promised the family a "decent" investigation, consultation and hearing that could provide an explanation to the circumstances in which Booth was found.

Additionally, the coroner said there was a list of cases that had been waiting for him, when he started on the job, that had been treated with the same neglect as the Booth case.

Nathan Booth's mother and three aunties who read out statements at the opening of the inquest.

"Nathan was a very much loved son ... He was a great son, always loving and supportive," Rayleen Booth said, holding back tears.

She said her son was a member of a big, close-knit family because of the way in which they grew up as part of the Stolen Generations.

His aunty Coral King said Booth was survived by four daughters he "loved and cared about greatly" and is remembered by his aunties, uncles and all their grandkids.

"The girls love and miss their dad as well," Ms King said. Another aunt, Wilma Dalton added, "he cared about people."

Sister Deanne Booth said the family's experience with the coronial process had been very different. She said they were given access that had not been given before.

"We'll be forever grateful for Ken Archer and Joe Kellaway [Counsel Assisting the Coroner]," she said. "They were very helpful in getting the process going and listening to our concerns and taking it all in."

Ms Booth hoped the inquest into her brother's death would be the start of a similar approach with future inquests.

The proceedings began with Mr Kellaway questioning senior constable Sean Cunningham, the case officer assigned to the inquest who had been collecting evidence since May 2023.

The officer had trekked a number of trails and unmarked paths to gauge environmental conditions and the time taken to reach the location where Nathan Booth was found.

Drone footage of the area where the body was recovered revealed a part of the river bank with near-vertical drop-offs, shoulder-high scrub and difficult terrain.

The officer told the hearing he had spent 931 hours on the case.

The senior constable will be cross-examined on Thursday followed by presentations from a number of "leading" scientific experts.

Before the hearing resumed at midday, about 50 friends and family gathered outside the ACT Law Courts holding banners and wearing similar blue shirts to commemorate Nathan Booth.

His cousin Ida Hanley read a public statement on behalf of the family.

She said Booth's death was not treated as a potential homicide and key witnesses and forensic evidence were not considered by police.

"By labelling Aboriginal deaths as 'misadventures', a pattern of impunity has been allowed to persist, denying justice and accountability," Ms Hanley said.

"This is yet another tragedy involving the life of an Aboriginal man where evidence of discrimination, neglect and racism was overlooked until it was too late."