Batty says inquest will be son's voice

Rosie Batty wants the Victorian coroner to hold a wide-ranging inquest into her son's death at his father's hands to ensure Luke has a voice.

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The mother of 11-year-old Luke Batty speaks to a large crowd gathered at his funeral. (Image: AAP)

Rosie Batty wants a wide-ranging inquest into her son's brutal murder by his father to give Luke a voice and ensure he did not die in vain.

Greg Anderson, 54, was shot dead by police after he killed his 11-year-old son Luke during a custody visitation in the Victorian town of Tyabb in February.

Anderson had been playing cricket with his son at the Tyabb oval when he struck the boy in the head with a cricket bat and stabbed him. Anderson was only allowed to see Luke in public places.

Ms Batty said the system was failing to protect women and their children in Victoria and called for change.

"Whether it's police or a child protection person, they go to work every day trying to do their best, but there are systemic failings," she told reporters on Thursday.

"Children have very little voice and the coroner's inquest is about Luke's voice and it's about making sure Luke is heard and respected and honoured because I don't want him to have died in vain."

The inquest will focus on the final 18 months of Luke's life and what Victoria Police and the Department of Human Services (DHS) knew about the family violence threat posed by Anderson and what they did in response.

"Essentially, what could agencies have done that could have prevented Luke being alone with his father on that day," counsel assisting the inquest Rachel Ellyard told the Victorian Coroners Court.

The intervention orders taken out against Anderson, which initially restricted access to Luke but were later changed to allow limited access, will also be investigated.

Ms Batty had also requested the inquest examine police prosecutors and their handling of bail applications made in court by Anderson.

The court heard police initially opposed Anderson getting bail in April 2013, but did not oppose his bail at another hearing in mid 2013.

Anderson had breached an intervention order and was caught with child pornography, the court heard.

But State Coroner Judge Ian Gray ruled the bail issue was not relevant, given the matters were not serious enough to have kept Anderson in jail until the time he killed Luke.

Ms Batty wept outside court as she implored agencies such as Victoria Police to keep an open door policy to Judge Gray's inquest.

"If I have to look at myself, and I don't have to but I do everyday as his mother, how could I have protected him. If I have to live with that analysis then I'm sure organisations have to as well," she said.

"This is about saving children's lives. It is not about agencies or services protecting themselves from what legally they might get hauled over the coals about."

The inquest will begin on October 13 to be followed by an inquest into Anderson's death.


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