Family of Mark Anthony Haines welcome 'positive' news of second coronial inquest, MLC Sue Higginson promises reform for legal system

Family members of Mark Anthony Haines say they have received positive news from the NSW coroner's office about a second coronial inquest into the tragedy, which the family maintain involved foul play.

Mr Craigie said the news that legal teams have been appointed and the coroner is supporting an inquest meant closure was one step closer.

"With my last breath I will be continuing to find out what happened to Mark," he said.

"We can live in hope that it [the inquest] may unearth something that could be beneficial to the investigation."

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The body of 17-year-old Mr Haines was found on the railway lines on January 16, 1988. A coronial inquest the same year returned an open finding and no charges have been laid since.

The case was reassigned to a new coroner in November last year after the coroner handling the case fell unwell and was unable to work.

Now, more than three-decades on, Mr Craigie said there was a new lease of hope for a "plausible explanation".

"If our boy was not Aboriginal we believe every attempt would have been made to unearth what happened," he said.

"He was a beautiful kid, this should not have happened."

A $500,000 reward was posted on the 30^th anniversary of Mr Haines' death which Mr Craigie said he would like to see doubled.

Mr Haines' family were joined by NSW Upper House MLC Sue Higginson outside the Tamworth Police Station on Monday morning.

Ms Higginson said answers concerning Mark's death were "well and truly overdue".

"We are very confident that people will come forward and we are very certain the evidence will come forward and finally truth will be told," she said.

The fresh demand for an inquest is hoped to be the first steps in reforming the entire legal system to better serve First Nations communities, Ms Higginson said.

"I will be working around the clock, as long as I have a position in parliament, to make sure these sort of circumstances never happen to any family again," she said.

"It's really time, it's overdue time to stop the over policing and the over incarceration of First Nations people in our community."

Oxley Police District Superintendent Bruce Grassick said detectives have continued to conduct inquiries into Mr Haines' death under Strike Force Puno.

"The Oxley Police District are determined to find answers about what happened to Mark and to bring closure for his family," he said.

"The case remains open and any information that comes to light will be given the highest priority and fully investigated."

The NSW Coroner's Court was contacted for this story.

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