Brisbane Invasion Day jubilation as Manslaughter charges announced : Melbourne Indymedia

The crowd shouted a whoop of joy when the Doomagee's lawyer, Andrew Boe, announced that the Queensland Attorney Generals department had announced that morning to charge Senior Sargent Chris Hurley with Manslaughter over the 2004 death of Mulrinji Doomagee. Doomagee's death sparked a riot that culminated in the burning down of the Palm Island police station. Boe warned that it was important now for commentators on the case not to prejudice the outcome by making strong statements of conjecture about the guilt or otherwise of Hurley.

The Attorney General's department has come to this decision after calls for justice from the Palm Island community and nationally. It comes in the wake of the Department's previous decision not to charge Hurley, Director of Public Prosecution Leanne Clare saying his death was "a terrible accident”. The local indigenous community had rejected a second inquiry which they felt would not result in widespread justice for indigenous people as a whole. However, Sir Laurence Street found there was enough evidence to charge Sen-Sgt Chris Hurley over the death. At an earlier inquest, deputy state coroner Christine Clements had found Hurley responsible for Doomagee's death.

One speaker said that the mark of justice in Queensland would be determined if there was even one indigenous person on the jury that oversees Hurley's trial.

The Invasion Day rally marched to police headquarters and then to Musgrave Park where a commemorative festival was held. Some attendees were treated for heat exhaustion.

Police did not attend the Invasion Day rally, but were two rows deep outside police headquarters. On January 27th the police union announced it would consider mass strikes over the decision to charge Hurley. The strike threat has been called "utterly childish" by Australian Council for Civil Liberties president Terry O'Gorman who says it is further evidence of the crisis in Aboriginal-police relations.

Audio of the event will be available soon.