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GONE FOR A SONG
Death in Custody on Palm Island

By Jeff Waters

photo courtesy Jeff Waters

12 May 2008 - Media Release - A new book, written by a journalist who closely followed the story of the death in custody of Mulrunji on Palm Island in 2004, is calling for the full release of compelling evidence which is still being kept secret.

Gone for a Song tells, for the first time, the full story about the first indigenous death in custody to result in a police officer charged for manslaughter. Author and journalist Jeff Waters uncovers with breadth and depth, Mulrunji’s contentious arrest and the botched investigations and the legal and political scandals which followed.

Mulrunji may have died, and the policeman linked to the death may have been found not guilty of his manslaughter, but the full implications of the case remain unresolved. Jeff Waters asserts that there is secret evidence - the subject of an on-going court non-publication order – which is so important it has the potential of re-shaping the way indigenous Australians are treated by governments, and, more directly, by police.

Gone for a Song is a scathing critique on Australia’s police and judicial system. Along the way Jeff Waters discovers not only a problematic investigation, but a community reeling from yet another blow in a long line of injustices which stem from the time that dislocated Aboriginal people were taken to Palm Island from their native lands. The Palm Islanders have been left, neglected, for almost a century, with no industry, no jobs, and little hope.

Gone for a Song is a call out for justice, and brings a fresh, new perspective on one of the most debated cases in recent Queensland politics.

Published by Australian Broadcasting Company, May 2008, rrp $24.95

ABOUT JEFF WATERS:
Jeff Waters has spent the last 20 years working as a newspaper, radio and television journalist in six Australian cities and more than 20 countries. He has worked for ABC News and Current Affairs in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Darwin and also for Associated Press Television and CNN. He has won several awards, most recently the Queensland Media Awards Best TV Current Affairs Report (2005 and 2006) and Best Radio Current Affairs (2006). He is currently a Senior Correspondent for the ABC’s Australia Network satellite TV news service and lives in Melbourne.

JEFF WATERS IS AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEW, PLEASE CONTACT:

DEBBIE McINNES PUBLIC RELATIONS

TEL: +61 (0)2 9550 9207: MOB: +61 (0)412 818 071: EMAIL: debbie@dmcpr.com.au

Further information: book page and palm island issues page - includes news index and external links

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