Jo Bjelke beattie and the Murunji death in police custody : Melbourne Indymedia

Update on this case: Bob Brown has called for a federally initiated royal commission into the case by making overtures to Brough in regard to his statements last week that were well to left of Beattie's rotten racist alliance with Qld coppers.

And Jo Bjelk Beattie -- says he will go to Palm and he has asked for a "please explain" from the Attorney Generals dept -- ie: changing his position from last week. Beattie's position had been (a) don't comment on the case (b) respect the umpire's decision. Beattie says his visit to Palm will be to explain to the Islanders why they need to respect the decision

At stake here is not only indigenous rights and racism but now the future status of the Dept of Public Prosecutions is in question as this and a few other cases (eg: swim coach Volkers, Pauline Hansen, a retarded aboriginal boy savagely bashed by a cop,etc)has spent its integrity . The significance of the DPP is that it is supposed to function as the the state's last line of defence from Qld returning to the bad old days of Bjelk Petersen corruption and government meddling in the judiciary.

Beattie has backed the Police Union and the commissioner all along thereby backing policeman's "innocence" and the Police Union's grand standing which sabotaged the first coronial investigation -- refusing to have the policeman stood down while under investigation. He has pleaded "due process" by 'due process" has got the Qld Murris.

-- a public document --and compare that to the DPP's decision and note that the DPP makes no excuses for the difference -- you have to wonder what planet they're on and who they are working for.

Rallies in Sydney and Brisbane are scheduled for next Wednesday and a can be signed here:

Obviously this case has national ramifications as it goes to the heart of black deaths in custody and goes a long way in spending any credibility the ALP may have had in the indigenous community --despite Warren Mundine's position in that party.

Rally 12noon Wednesday December 20 Queens Park (Cnr George/Elizabeth Sts, opp casino) March on state parliament

* Bring charges against Senior Sergeant Hurley to let a court determine his guilt or innocence

Equal rigour would have avoided disgrace
COMMENT
Tony Koch
December 16, 2006

IF the Queensland Police Service had applied just a percentage of the rigour and enthusiasm to investigating the horrific death of Mulrunji Doomadgee that they did to arresting people who had burnt their buildings on Palm Island, the disgraceful injustice that has been
perpetrated on Aboriginal people could have been avoided.

Incredible as it may seem, they requested the army in Townsville send Black Hawk helicopters and soldiers when the buildings were torched and their 18 armed police ran to the hospital for protection.

Then more than 80 police arrived with riot shields, taser guns, automatic shotguns and Glock pistols - and arrested more than 20 people suspected of property damage.

Contrast that with the investigation of Doomadgee's death. Mates of the arresting officer, Chris Hurley, were appointed to handle it.

He picked them up at the airport, took them to his home, cooked a meal for them and shared a beer or two.

The next day the "investigation" began. But contrary to standing rules, they did not declare it a "homicide situation".

In fact, the original police statement to the pathologist conducting the autopsy on the body of Doomadgee did not mention allegations of an assault.

Deputy Coroner Christine Clements, after hearing months of evidence and cross examination, commented that some of the investigating officers were "wilfully blind" and that Hurley's treatment of Doomadgee was "callous and deficient".

She found Hurley had lied and that his actions were responsible for Doomadgee's death.

Yet the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Crime and Misconduct Commission could not find enough evidence on which to charge Hurley with anything - not even a disciplinary issue.

Premier Peter Beattie said his Government was working to improve the lot of indigenous people in Queensland, and particularly on Palm Island.

That is bunkum. After his election win this year - due more to the Opposition's ineptitude than the Government's achievements - he did away with the indigenous affairs portfolio.

Beattie's protestations that he wants to help indigenous people have been too hollow for too long and this latest disgraceful incident dashes the credibility of his Government.

Thought folks may want to pass on their best wishes to Chris Hurley, the murdering pig who will be enjoying Christmas with his family this year.

supportchris@qpu.asn.au

My say
by Lone voice of reason in maelstrom of prejudic Tuesday December 19, 2006 at 08:06 AM

A coroner's finding and a jury's finding are two seperate issues, each being arrived at through different burdens of proof and through different evidentiary rules.

In Victoria, for example, we had a famous murder trial of a guy names Greg Domascavic who was alleged to have murdered a kid called Jaiden Leskie.

The coroner found that he did it.

A jury acquitted him of the murder charge.

Different rules. Different processes. Different outcomes.

People should better inform themselves and try and resist their prejudice against anything to do with lawful authority from blinding their judgment.

Then thy should feel free to fuck off and shut up.

Thank you.

Indigenous leader quits
by Paddy Jerome, Steven Wardill and Margaret Wen Tuesday December 19, 2006 at 09:15 AM

Indigenous leader quits

Paddy Jerome, Steven Wardill and Margaret Wenham

December 18, 2006 11:00pm
Article from: The Courier-Mail

http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,20948403-3102,00.html

QUEENSLAND Labor's first indigenous member has sensationally quit the
party over the State Government's handling of Palm Island.
Paddy Jerome, awarded Labor life membership in 1999, yesterday said he
could no longer stomach being involved with the party.

Mr Jerome's resignation came as Australia's first indigenous police
officer, Col Dillon, unleashed a scathing attack on the Beattie
Government before announcing he had quit his job with the Department
of Communities.

Mr Jerome, 74, joined the Labor Party in 1967 shortly after indigenous
people were handed the right to vote.

Mr Jerome said he could not believe Mulrunji's death was a "tragic
accident" as found by the Director of Public Prosecutions Leanne Clare.

"I am going to give the Labor Party away because of the situation on
Palm Island," he said.

A victim of the stolen wages saga, Mr Jerome said he had been forced
to work on Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen's Kingaroy property for free in the
1940s.

However, he now believes Premier Peter

Beattie "is worse than Bjelke-Petersen and we were slaves to
Bjelke-Petersen".

Meanwhile, Col Dillon yesterday announced he had quit his current job
with the Department of Communities.

The highly respected former police officer of 36 years – a recipient
of an Australian Police Medal and a commendation for bravery – said he
was "absolutely shocked and dismayed" at the DPP's findings.

"There's definitely one law for indigenous people and one for
non-indigenous people," he said.

Stop The Genocide
by Settlers for Indigenous Sovereignty Tuesday December 19, 2006 at 11:04 AM

"What a surprise, another Australian Police Officer who didn’t kill an aborigine in custody. The four broken ribs, ruptured liver and ruptured portal vein suffered by Mulrunji Dommadgee all happened when he fell over. Steve Biko must be tripping and falling in his grave"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Biko

What Stephen Lawrence Has Taught Us by Benjamin Zephaniah
(from 'Too Black, Too Strong')

We know who the killers are,
We have watched them strut before us
As proud as sick Mussolinis',
We have watched them strut before us
Compassionless and arrogant,
They paraded before us,
Like angels of death
Protected by the law.

It is now an open secret
Black people do not have
Chips on their shoulders,
They just have injustice on their backs
And justice on their minds,
And now we know that the road to liberty
Is as long as the road from slavery.

The death of Stephen Lawrence
Has taught us to love each other
And never to take the tedious task
Of waiting for a bus for granted.
Watching his parents watching the cover-up
Begs the question
What are the trading standards here?
Why are we paying for a police force
That will not work for us?

The death of Stephen Lawrence
Has taught us
That we cannot let the illusion of freedom
Endow us with a false sense of security as we walk the streets,
The whole world can now watch
The academics and the super cops
Struggling to define institutionalised racism
As we continue to die in custody
As we continue emptying our pockets on the pavements,
And we continue to ask ourselves
Why is it so official
That black people are so often killed
Without killers?

We are not talking about war or revenge
We are not talking about hypothetics or possibilities,
We are talking about where we are now
We are talking about how we live now
In dis state
Under dis flag, (God Save the Queen),
And God save all those black children who want to grow up
And God save all the brothers and sisters
Who like raving,
Because the death of Stephen Lawrence
Has taught us that racism is easy when
You have friends in high places.
And friends in high places
Have no use whatsoever
When they are not your friends.

Dear Mr Condon,
Pop out of Teletubby land,
And visit reality,
Come to an honest place
And get some advice from your neighbours,
Be enlightened by our community,
Neglect your well-paid ignorance
Because
We know who the killers are.

http://www.benjaminzephaniah.com/index.html

The complexity of the issues of violence, which realistically must influence the police there too, are discussed here by lawyer Andrew Boe who has worked for the Indigenous community up there, from Feb 2005, before the latest decision to not prosecute.

http://www.brisinst.org.au/resources/boe_andrew_palmisland.html

@"Lone voice of reason" troll

"Feel free to shut the fuck up" yourself.

People WANT the issue to go to a Jury. It hasn't. Does that fit into your 'Different rules. Different processes. Different outcomes.'? Thought so. Get fucked.

To: supportchris@qpu.asn.au
CC: police@qpu.asn.au, gwilkinson@qpu.asn.au

G'day.

I support calls for Chris Hurley to meet a jury.

I'm not at all sure that he's guilty of murder,
but I'm quite convinced that the truth has been covered up.

I'm not at all sure that he's guilty of murder,
but someone is guilty of appointing officers who knew Hurley personally to conduct the initial police investigations :
he met his mates at the airport, then took them home later for dinner.
Someone is guilty of failing to ensure an independant and transparent investigation.
Somebody's guilty of interfering with video surveillance
and a few people are guilty of ignoring the dying man's cries of pain

I'm not at all sure that he's guilty of murder,
but I'd like to hear what a jury thinks.

I support calls for Chris Hurley to meet a jury,
but I'm a realist : I recognise that the horse has bolted.
Chris Hurley's got away with ... whatever Chris Hurley's got away with.
murder. manslaughter. gross incompetence and negligence leading to another man's death.

Shame, Gary Wilkinson and QPU for rejecting out of hand the many good recommendations made by the coroner.
Shame, Queensland police, for the heavy-handed over-reaction in response to the unrest on Palm Island (caused by your own members!).
Shame, Australia, for tolerating the outdated, redundant and useless paradigms which led to this tragedy :
not just the proforessional culture of the police, which has clearly not moved on far enough since the Royal Commission and 'Moonlight State',
but also our shared national failure to reconcile.

So I support calls for a Royal Commission.

Yes!
by Lone voice of reason in maelstrom of prejudic Friday December 29, 2006 at 08:57 AM

And the Royal Commission should include a careful and painstaking examination of why these aresholes keep beating their women and children, resulting in people like Hurley having to pick up the pieces every day.

Drunken, useless pricks whose philosophy in life is 'it's all about me'.

Get the Royal Commission going by all means. Then get these baboons in the witness box and grill them over their brutalilty towards their own families. Make them squirm. Make their lawyers embarassed to be representing these self-centred, drunken hoons.

Then kindly fuck off.

Paddy Jerome is pictured here just after becoming Labor's first indiginous member in 1967.

Other than his hair being a little greyer now, he pretty much looks the same now.

Come to think of it, his relatives haven't changed much either over the past 50,000 years.