Long v The Queen

The Supreme Court of Queensland heard an application from Robert Paul Long, the accused in a case involving the murder and arson of the Palace backpackers hostel in Childers, which resulted in the death of 15 people. Long sought to permanently stay the indictment against him on the basis that the extensive pre-trial publicity had prejudiced his chances of receiving a fair trial. The court was required to decide whether the pre-trial publicity was so extreme that it warranted a permanent stay of proceedings and whether the negative publicity, particularly from government sources, was deliberately engineered.

The court considered the history of the case, including the initial committal proceedings and the transfer of the trial from Bundaberg to Brisbane due to concerns about the publicity. The court examined the nature of the publicity, which included detailed reporting on Long’s criminal history and allegations of his involvement in the fire. The court acknowledged that the publicity had been extensive and potentially prejudicial but found that the negative impact of the publicity had diminished over time. The court also considered whether the directions to the jury would be sufficient to mitigate any prejudicial effects of the publicity. Ultimately, the court concluded that the potential for prejudice, while acknowledged, did not rise to the level of a significant and unacceptable likelihood that the trial would be vitiated by impermissible prejudice and prejudgment. The application for a permanent stay was therefore refused.