New book claims compelling evidence in Palm Island death in custody is being kept secret

*GONE FOR A SONG*

A Death in Custody on Palm Island

By Jeff Waters

Published by ABC BOOKS, May 2008, rrp $24.95**

A new book, written by a journalist who closely followed the story of
the death in custody of Mulrunji on Palm Island in 2004, is calling
for the full release of compelling evidence which is still being kept
secret.

*Gone for a Song* tells, for the first time, the full story about
the first indigenous death in custody to result in a police officer
charged for manslaughter. Author and journalist Jeff Waters uncovers
with breadth and depth, Mulrunji's contentious arrest and the botched
investigations and the legal and political scandals which followed.

Mulrunji may have died, and the policeman linked to the death may have
been found not guilty of his manslaughter, but the full implications
of the case remain unresolved. Jeff Waters asserts that there is
secret evidence - the subject of an on-going court non-publication
order - which is so important it has the potential of re-shaping the
way indigenous Australians are treated by governments, and, more
directly, by police. *Gone for a Song* is a scathing critique on
Australia's police and judicial system.

 Along the way Jeff Waters discovers not only a  problematic investigation, but a community
reeling from yet another  blow in a long line of injustices which stem
from the time that  dislocated Aboriginal people were taken to Palm
Island from their  native lands. The Palm Islanders have been left,
neglected, for almost  a century, with no industry, no jobs, and
little hope.

*Gone for a Song * is a call out for justice, and brings a fresh, new
perspective on one of the most debated cases in recent Queensland
politics.

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*ABOUT JEFF WATERS:*

Jeff Waters has spent the last 20 years working as a newspaper, radio
and television journalist in six Australian cities and more than 20
countries. He has worked for ABC News and Current Affairs in Sydney,
Melbourne, Brisbane and Darwin and also for Associated Press
Television and CNN. He has won several awards, most recently the
Queensland Media Awards Best TV Current Affairs Report (2005 and 2006)
 and Best Radio Current Affairs (2006). He is currently a Senior
Correspondent for the ABC's Australia Network satellite TV news
service and lives in Melbourne.

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*JEFF WATERS IS AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEW, PLEASE CONTACT:*

*DEBBIE McINNES PUBLIC RELATIONS*

*TEL: 02 9550 9207   |   MOB: 0412 818 071     |   EMAIL:
debbie@dmcpr.com.au *