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Debate between lawyers in the pre-hearing conference went on in hushed tones.
Before I knew it, my ageing diary was full. Andrew Boe stepped back from the bar table.
A gaggle of fifteen or more clerks, journos and lawyers filed out of the pre-hearing of
Mulrunji’s third inquest.
Two hours had passed.
Boe had been there at the second inquest and most proceedings since. He knows all about
‘due process’.
Hurley’s lawyer Steve Zillman and police union boss, Dennis Fitzpatrick, were sitting
beside each other at the bar table.
Coroner Brian Hine showed little expression. When he did, it seemed to say ‘what a thankless
task this is’.
Two issues remain unresolved from the morning’s work.
Lawyers discussed whether similar conduct in the manner of arresting people could be
admitted into a coronial inquest. There was much discussion of a long-awaited CMC investigation
into Mulrunji’s death.
Can a third inquest lead to justice?
If not, will the parliament act?
If the parliament refuses, what will bring justice for Mulrunji?
When the courts and parliament have failed, are we are back on the streets singing that
familiar refrain:
“No More Black Deaths in Custody”?