Mayor seeks 'truth' over Mulrunji death

Palm Island Mayor Alf Lacey says it is time the truth came out.

The Mayor of Palm Island, off north Queensland, says there are still too many unanswered questions about the 2004 death in custody of Mulrunji Doomadgee and the events that followed his death.

Townsville MP and parliamentary speaker Mike Reynolds yesterday presented Queensland Parliament with a petition calling for a royal commission into the case.

The document, which contains 217 signatures, also requests all Aboriginal people convicted of offences relating to a riot on the island after Mr Doomadgee's death be pardoned.

Palm Island Mayor Alf Lacey says it is time the truth came out.

"Certainly there are still some unanswered questions that need to be seriously answered," he said.

"The main issue is someone was in police custody and the police had a duty of care or the Queensland Government had a duty of care, we want to know where that duty of care, or what happened with that duty of care.

"No doubt Mike's [Reynolds] going to be ridiculed by the Queensland Police Union - I think the Queensland Police Union should act as responsible adults rather than ridiculing Mike.

"Mike has a responsibility to his constituents and if his constituents are asking him to ask further questions on it or find further answers to it, then look Mike has every right as an elected parliamentarian."

Related:

Wotton jailed for 6 years for a loser cop
Lex Patrick Wotton has been jailed for six years for a loser cop who incited a riot on Palm Island off north Queensland in 2004.

How brave were the Queensland police in the aftermath of Palm
How brave were the Queensland police in the aftermath of Palm Island’s riot – when special forces police swarmed the community?

Wotton jailed for 6 years for a loser cop

Lex Patrick Wotton has been jailed for six years for a loser cop who incited a riot on Palm Island off north Queensland in 2004.

The sentence was handed down in the District Court in Townsville by Judge Michael Shanahan.

Two weeks ago, a jury in Brisbane found Wotton guilty of inciting the 2004 riot following the death in custody of Mulrunji Doomadgee after a loser cop bashed him to death.

This morning Judge Shanahan sentenced Wotton to seven years, but that has been reduced to six taking into account time already served.

He will be eligible for parole in July 2010.

White Wash

Last year, Queensland Police Senior Sergeant Chris Hurley was found not guilty of Mulrunji's death and this week police involved in quelling the riot were awarded bravery medals.

Hospital workers to walk off the job

Thousands of hospital workers across Queensland will walk off the job for at least two hours today as part of an ongoing wages dispute with the State Government.

Admin and clinical staff from at least ten major facilities including the Royal Brisbane and Womens' Hospitals and Princess Alexandra and Prince Charles will take part in the stoppage.

Queensland Public Sector Union spokesman Alex Scott says they have been forced into taking the drastic step.

"We are a minute from midnight in terms of a significant crisis because the Government is refusing to listen," he said.

Mr Scott says emergency cases will still be seen and some staff will remain at work.

The Premier Anna Bligh has warned public servants will be taken to the Industrial Commission if the strike is too disruptive.

"I don't expect we'll see any significant disruptions to services," Ms Bligh said.

The stoppage is due to begin at 11:30am AEST with workers to attend rallies around the state.

Qld man kept in jail beyond release date

Queensland's Department of Corrective Services has admitted holding a prisoner in the Townsville jail for almost four months beyond his scheduled release date.

Jerry Ngakyunkwokka was held for 118 days in the Townsville Correctional Centre before facing trial for his part in a riot in the Aboriginal settlement of Aurukun last year.

The judge instructed that pre-trial custody period be deducted from Mr Ngakyunkwokka's sentence but the instruction was overlooked and he spent almost four months wrongfully imprisoned.

A statement released by Corrective Services says the incident is being investigated by the Assistant Director-General of Custodial Corrections, who is also working to ensure the error is not repeated with other Queensland prisoners.

Mr Ngakyunkwokka was released from prison last Thursday and was given advice on how to make a complaint should he wish to do so.

State Opposition Leader Lawrence Springborg says there were 17 late releases last year.

"This Government doesn't have its hands on the levers when it comes to properly running our jail system in Queensland," he said.

Police Minister Judy Spence says it was a "dreadful error" by the Department and the man will be compensated.

She says the prisoner can claim up to $1,000 a day in compensation.

"Usually people are only kept for one or two days so this is the longest that I've ever seen and it's unacceptable," she said.

"Generally these mistakes occur because registrars in the court have difficulty interpreting judges decisions and that's why we have some of these problems."

Builders to walk off in Qld protest

More than 2,000 construction workers are expected to walk off Queensland job sites this morning to protest against workplace laws.

Workers will attend combined union rallies in Brisbane, Townsville and the Gold Coast to call for the former federal government's industrial legislation to be quashed.

CFMEU State Secretary Michael Ravbar says many builders feel Kevin Rudd has broken his pre-election promise to get rid of the laws.

"A lot of people voted for Rudd in the election. I mean we've got an industry which is the forth biggest employer over 900,000 construction workers around the country and they're just sick and tired of having different rights," he said.

"They just want a bit of fairness and a bit of equity back and they want to have the same rights as any other worker in this country.

"And unfortunately Rudd has failed to deliver on that."

Mr Ravbar says the laws are draconian and undemocratic.

"You don't have the right to take strike action and if you do you've got potential fines of $28,000 for individuals, $110,000 for unions. We have special laws that if you do things you don't have the right to silence," he said.

"Basically construction workers' civil rights are taken away from them."

Primary school bans cartwheels, handstands

A North Queensland primary school has banned cartwheels and handstands in the playground.

Belgian Gardens State School in Townsville has banned all gymnastics activities during lunch breaks, declaring it dangerous because it has the potential to cause back and neck injuries.

Cali Buschgens, 10, has been reprimanded for cartwheeling on school grounds and her grandmother Val Bryce says the ban is a sad reflection on modern society.

"Sadly I think this is probably linked with the current society where litigation is rife and I feel that schools are probably trying to avoid a child being hurt and an irresponsible mother then trying to sue them for it," she said.

Education Queensland has defended the ban on unsupervised gymnastic activities.

Regional executive director Vicki Baylis says fear of litigation was never a factor in the decision and it was made purely for the students safety.

"The issue around the gymnastics is around the safety of the kids and it was not motivated by any concept of litigation, but certainly [by] that safety and well-being component of those kids when we're talking heads and necks and potentially backs if there were an injury."

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh says she is surprised by the decision, and says the school is obviously taking student safety very seriously.

"I'd be interested to hear from this school what prompted them to take this action, because school communities by and large try to meet the standards that parents have in that community," she said.

Toddler murderer gets life

A Supreme Court judge in Cairns has described the murder and rape of a 14-month-old toddler as "horrific and cruel" before sentencing a young man to life imprisonment.

The court heard Bradley William Walter Logan inflicted 18 fatal blows to his girlfriend's daughter Quartarnia Landers in a Cairns unit at Westcourt early last year.

The 19-year-old from Palm Island also pleaded guilty to two counts of rape.

The child's mother and other relatives attended today's court proceedings.

In sentencing, Justice Stanley Jones said Logan's actions had affected many people, including the paramedics and doctors who treated the child as well as police investigators.

He said that could not be compared with the suffering felt by Quartania Landers' family, including the pain the mother Charity Landers would experience for the rest of her life.

Justice Jones noted that Logan expressed resentment about being left to look after the toddler before murdering and raping her.

He also mentioned that Logan was emotionally disturbed and demonstrated that by a suicide attempt the previous day.

"But violence towards a baby is something society cannot tolerate," Justice Jones said.

"It's very easy to cause the death of a child."

Logan received life imprisonment for the murder charge and eight years each for the rape offences.

Noosa schoolgirl killer fights for life in hospital

One of Queensland's most notorious criminals remains critically ill in a Townsville hospital.

Faye Cramb - formerly known as Valmae Faye Beck - was jailed for life for the 1987 toture and murder of Noosa schoolgirl Sian Kingi.

She was taken to hospital from the Townsville Correctional Centre earlier this week to be treated for a heart problem..

It is understood her condition has deteriorated.

Queensland Police Minister Judy Spence says investigators are hoping for a deathbed confession from the notorious child killer who is critically ill in a Townsville hospital.

Spence says police are hoping she regains consciousness so they can question her further.

"I know there are police who have dealt with her and Barry Watts over the years who believe that she may still have information on some unsolved crimes," she said.

"They would like to interview her at this point of time, when she faces her own mortality, and see if she's got something else to say."

Cramb's former husband Watts is serving life for Ms Kingi's rape and murder.

Vigilance urged on potential patient killers

Hospitals are urged to do more to monitor the potential for staff to kill patients.

Australian hospitals are being urged to do more to monitor staff who may set out to kill patients.

John Field, a nursing lecturer at James Cook University in Queensland, has just completed his PhD at Adelaide University on nurses who kill their patients.

He says health workers are often slow to report any suspicious behaviour among their colleagues because of a disbelief that someone would deliberately set out to kill patients.

"The best strategy that we have is if we can get people first of all acknowledging the possibility that it could happen and then being prepared to report it when they do have suspicions about another nurse," he said.

"Generally speaking what we've found is that it's so unthinkable for nurses to think that a colleague might be killing patients that they don't report it, they don't suspect it and they don't report it."