Jonathan Strauss

An Indigenous man died in custody in Queensland on June 26. The death came a week after police officer Chris Hurley was found not guilty of the assault and manslaughter of Indigenous man Mulrunji on Palm Island in 2004.

The 50th anniversary of the 1957 Palm Island strike was marked by a “very emotional” commemoration on June 15, Indigenous activist Gracelyn Smallwood told Green Left Weekly. She said up to 4000 people took part. Among the activities, relatives of the seven men and their families who were handcuffed, chained and removed at gunpoint from the island spoke about the violation of their human rights. The strike was triggered by a system that meant every Indigenous person on Palm Island had to work for 30 hours per week while being paid only in rations.

KURANDA — More than 100 people took part in a march and festival to mark Recognition Day on May 27. The march was organised by the Kuranda Women’s Group. Speakers at the festival opening included Judi Enoch, secretary of the Ngoonbi Cooperative Society, Terry O’Shane and other local Indigenous activists and elders. They highlighted the need to be conscious of Indigenous people’s history of struggle and the sharp attacks on their rights and living conditions in the decade the Howard government has been in power.

Twenty-five people rallied in Anzac Park on January 24 to call for the return to Australia of Guantanamo Bay prisoner David Hicks, during a visit by federal attorney-general Philip Ruddock.

More than 2000 people are expected to rally in Cairns on November 30 against Work Choices, according to the Cairns Provincial Council of the Queensland Council of Unions. This would be the largest such demonstration yet in far-north Queensland.