Lex Wotton to stand for parliament

February 18, 2017
Issue 

First Nations activist Lex Wotton has announced he will contest the state seat of Townsville as an independent in the yet-to-be-announced Queensland election.

Wotton was jailed for two years for his role in the Palm Island riots of 2004.

More recently the Federal Court found that police breached the Racial Discrimination Act after the death of Cameron Doomadgee, but the Queensland Government has appealed the ruling.

It was this appeal that spurred him into action.

“By running for the state election I’m hoping to make the police more accountable and address wider problems including Aboriginal deaths in custody,” he said.

“There might be a lot of support for me from socially conscious people.”

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