The latest national news update from the National Indigenous Radio Service.
DFAT warns Aust tourists after US shooting
Three officers have been shot dead and three others wounded in a Louisiana city after the latest ambush on police in the United States. It comes just days after yet another black death at the hands of authorities.
In a press conference a short time ago, Baton Rogue police have confirmed a gunman has been killed by police, and no other shooters are being sought. It followed an ambush on police early this morning, Australian Eastern Standard Time.
It’s the second deadly attack on police in as many weeks – on July 7, five police in Dallas were killed, and 9 wounded, along with two bystanders, after Philando Castile, a black man, was shot dead during a traffic stop in Minnesotta, while reaching for his driver’s license.
Castile’s death was streamed live on Facebook by his wife, and sparked widespread outrage at the ongoing killings of black men by US police.
Black Lives Matter in Australia
Back home, thousands of people turned out to rallies in Melbourne and Sydney over the weekend in solidarity at the police killings of black people in the US, and to protest the ongoing deaths in custody of Aboriginal people in Australia.
Since the Royal Commission into Aboriginal deaths in custody in 1991, hundreds of First Nations people have died in police and prison custody. The number of deaths now outstrips the total number of recommendations from the Royal Commission – 339.
More than 3,500 people turned out to the Melbourne rally yesterday, shadowed by a heavy police presence, including riot squad officers.
The protest remained peaceful. Aboriginal woman Yarramun Conole told the crowd First Nations people were over-represented in the justice system, and still suffered the inter-generational effects of colonisation.
Controversial Qld cop loses legal pay bid
The police officer responsible for the manslaughter of an Aboriginal man in a Palm Island watchhouse in 2004 has lost his legal bid to have his pay re-instated.
Senior Sergeant Chris Hurley was stood down from regular duties following a police pursuit on the Gold Coast last year in which shots were fired. He was suspended in December after a separate incident relating to off-duty conduct, and then in March, he was also charged with two counts of assault, including one against a female police officer.
The Police Union led a legal challenge to have Hurley’s pay reinstated, but on Friday the Supreme Court struck it down.
It follows the controversial policeman’s 2007 acquittal of the manslaughter of Mulrunji Doomadgee, who died at the Palm Island watchhouse in November 2004. That death sparked an uprising on the island, in which the police station, court house and part of the police barracks were burnt to the ground.
Woman dies after Qld house fire
A woman has died in hospital after a neighbour dragged her from a burning house on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.
The 44-year-old suffered critical injuries when fire swept through a house at Coolum Beach on Sunday night. A neighbour forced his way into the burning building to rescue the woman.
She died in hospital, police announced early this morning.
The fire caused severe damage to the home, which will be inspected by crime scene detectives today. No one else was home when the fire took hold.
Liberals meet for first time after poll
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull will unveil a revised front bench later today, as Liberal Party MPs gather in Canberra for their first group meeting since the federal election.
The formal party room meeting follows a function at The Lodge in Canberra yesterday.
Turkey tells Bishop govt back in control
Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim has reassured Australia that his government is back in control after an attempted military coup.
Foreign minister Julie Bishop has Australians to reconsider travel to Istanbul and Ankara amid chaotic scenes in those cities as the Turkish government seeks to arrest the plotters, and consular staff try to help those wanting to leave the country.
