Monday morning - recent news from and about Palm Island - Foster wins mayor election, meeting discusses the way forward

WARNING - stories linked to here may contain pictures or other names of Mulrunji.






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Palm Island is about 65km NNW of Townsville, the largest city in North Queensland.

Delena Foster has won the election for mayor of Palm Island Council, held on Saturday. She has insisted on answers from Queensland Premier Peter Beattie while calling for calm on the island. That is from a report by Dave Donaghy and Steve Wardill, published in News Ltd's Courier Mail and Australian newspapers.

The Magnetic Times reports that Magnetic Island elder Ms Christine George, who was born on Palm Island, said:

“Nothing has really changed. There are numerous instances of Aboriginals being incarcerated for minor crimes and receiving punishments that didn’t fit the crime. There doesn’t seem to be any consideration for the situation Aboriginal people are currently in.”

Shelina Sharratt in News Ltd's Townsville Bulletin says:

TEARS and raw emotion flowed freely as more than 150 residents, both black and white, packed a Townsville church to discuss the 'way forward' in the wake of the DPP's decision not to charge Senior Sergeant Chris Hurley over the death in custody of Mulrunji...

The two-hour long meeting heard addresses from aboriginal lawyers, activists and non-indigenous community members.

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