On Monday, the Federal Court ruled Queensland Police breached the Racial Discrimination Act during their response to the Palm Island protests in 2004.
Justice Debbie Mortimer found “officers preferred confrontation to engagement and operated very much with an ‘us and them’ attitude.”
Following the death of 14-year-old Elijah Doughty earlier this year, the Kalgoorlie community has experienced a series of violent incidents and protests, which have flared tensions in the town and with authorities.
Now, locals believe the Palm Island ruling could open the door for a similar challenge.
Earlier this week, Indigenous activist Lex Wotton, who led the Federal Court action on behalf of Palm Island after being jailed for 'leading the riots', had already mentioned that the decision could trigger other court cases around the country.
Wotton told NITV: “Hopefully, I will just take up causes in other areas. This is just one case in the area of policing. But there is a lot of institutional racism out there, and that needs to change. That’s where people need to get up there and voice it, and bring it to light.”
Palm Island also sets a precedent for Ms Dhu's death in custody case.
The West Australian Coroner announced it will hand down findings from the coronial inquest, including the family’s request for the release of CCTV Vision, on the 16th of December.\
