NSW Coroner To Investigate Music Festival Deaths
Five deaths this summer
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The NSW coroner will hold a public hearing into the recent deaths of five people at music festivals across the state.
A directions hearing will be held next Tuesday, led by acting state coroner Teresa O'Sullivan.
Deputy state coroner Harriet Grahame will oversee any further hearings, as well as the inquest. No dates for an inquest have yet been set.
The hearing will focus on the deaths of Diana Nguyen and Joseph Nguyen Nhu Binh Pham at Defqon.1 on September 15; Callum Brosnan, who died after attending the Knockout Games of Destiny on December 9; Joshua Tam, following the Lost Paradise festival on December 29; and Alexandra Ross-King, who died after going to FOMO on Saturday.
The hearing will be of particular interest to pill-testing advocates, who say significant evidence shows pill-testing could prevent drug-deaths at music festivals, despite NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian's refusal to entertain the idea.