Sports cars, motorbikes and luxury boats: How locals have blown much of the $30million compensation given to them after the Palm Island riots on lavish goods
- Some of the compensation money from Palm Island riots spent on luxury goods
- Locals at Palm Island, in Queensland, rioted after a death in custody in 2004
- Excessive police force was used and resulted in a $30million payout in 2018
- Townsville businesses said car and boat sales were high during the coronavirus
- Other locals have put their money towards investments and long-term goals
- Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19
A large chunk of the $30million compensation money from the infamous Palm Island riots has been spent on luxury items.
Locals from Palm Island, North Queensland, have spent their taxpayer-funded compensation from the November 2004 riots on luxury boats, high-performance sports cars and four wheel drives.
A leading figure in the riots, Lex Wotton, said the spending showed that justice had been served.
‘It’s good to see the smile on people’s faces,’ he told 9News.
Much of the $30million compensation money from the Queensland Government for the infamous Palm Island riots in 2004 has been spent on luxury boats and sports cars (pictured)
The riots were sparked by the death of a local man, Mulrunji Doomadgee, while in custody and saw the Palm Island police station, court house and officers’ homes burned down.
An autopsy found that Mr Doomadgee died from internal injuries and a court determined he had been punched several times by the arresting officer Chris Hurly.
The violent unrest saw major clashes emerge between police officers and locals.
Officers were flown into Palm Island and conducted early morning raids with riot gear and large guns.
In 2016 it was determined the officers had used an excessive amount of force and violated the Racial Discrimination Act.
The Queensland Government then lost a class action lawsuit and was ordered to pay $30 million in compensation to the 447 complainants in 2018.
Businesses in Townsville have since seen a cash injection and enjoyed a steady stream of car and boat sales throughout the coronavirus crisis.
Ian Smith, from Angus Smith Marine, said his biggest sale had been a $70,000 boat.
Townsville businesses enjoyed a steady stream of car and luxury boat (pictured) sales throughout the coronavirus crisis
‘We worked out a price with us, said we’ll be back in half an hour with the money, and they went to the bank and came back,’ he said
One teenager, who was three-years-old at the time of the riots, spent all of his $380,000 payout money on luxury cars in just two weeks.
He bought a top of the range Landcruiser Ute for himself and two other friends.
Not everyone in the Palm Island community splashed out on luxury goods, with some choosing to put their cash towards more longterm goals.
Palm Island local Harry Reuben said his family were investing their payout money.
He explained: ‘A relative of mine always wanted to start his own business and he’s started that.’
Around $3 million of the compensation is yet to be distributed as lawyers discovered there were several mistakes regarding who was entitled to the money.
It was found that certain claimants were not on Palm Island during the riots, while some had been in jail and others had already passed away.
The November 2004 Palm Island riots (pictured) were sparked when a local man died in police custody and saw officers use excessive force to contain the unrest