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Palm Island settlement gives residents chance to heal
Described by the AHRC as one of Australia’s most significant racial discrimination cases, a recent Federal Court decision has led to the Qld government settling with residents of Palm Island for racial discrimination linked to riots in 2004.
Melissa Coade
Fourteen years ago, when an Aboriginal man known as Mulrunji died while in police custody on Palm Island, the local community railed against what they considered to be a gross injustice.
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Public protests, one week after the 36-year-old man’s death due to internal injuries on 19 November 2004, led to police laying criminal charges against a number of locals.
Meanwhile, a group of masked officers with assault rifles from the police Special Emergency Response Team also broke into the houses of 18 local families and confronted unarmed local men, women and children.
Since that time, the Human Rights Commission (AHRC) became involved in the events surrounding the case, spanning a number of years.
June Oscar AO, Social Justice Commissioner, said that while an apology had been a long time coming, vindication for the Palm Island residents was welcome.
“The proud residents of Palm Island have demonstrated their resilience, commitment and patience in waiting for their rights and suffering to be acknowledged,” Ms Oscar said.
“It’s never too late to be vindicated and receive an apology, but it is a shame it’s taken so long,” she said.
On behalf of the AHRC, Race Discrimination Commissioner Tim Soutphommasane, added that he hoped resolution of the matter would help the community heal some 14 years after the events.
“This is good news for the people of Palm Island and we welcome the Queensland Government’s acknowledgement of the pain and suffering of the residents of Palm Island,” Mr Soutphommasane said.
“This settlement highlights how the Racial Discrimination Act is an instrument of justice,” he added.
A year after the riots, the AHRC was granted leave to appear at the Coronial Inquest into the death of Mulrunji in 2005. The Coroner adopted all 40 of the recommendations submitted by the commission to the inquest.
Then, in 2010, a group of Palm Island residents made a formal complaint to the AHRC. The complaint was concerned with the role of the Queensland Police Service in investigating the death of Mulrunji, in managing community concerns on the island in the wake of the tragedy, and in their response to the protests.
The Palm Island residents claimed that the conduct of the police officers involved in managing the riots was affected by the fact they were dealing with an Aboriginal community and the death of an Aboriginal man.
After failed attempts to resolve the matter between the parties through conciliation, the group of Palm Island complainants commenced a class action proceeding in the Federal Court.
A decision was handed down in December 2016, with Federal Court Justice Debra Mortimer finding that the Queensland Police Service officers had been in breach of the Racial Discrimination Act.
The court said that the police officers with command and control of the investigation did not act impartially and independently. It also determined that there had been substantial failures by officers to communicate with the Palm Island community and defuse tensions prior to the protests.
“Significantly, her Honour found that the policing response to the protests was excessive and disproportionate,” the AHRC said.
The Wotton family was awarded damages following the Federal Court decision. The Queensland Government has now reached a $30 million settlement with the other members of the group of people affected by the conduct.
