Childers fire; Trial to start in January
The man accused of starting a fatal fire at an Australian youth hostel will face trial in January, a court has ruled.
A total of 15 young travellers, including one Irish woman, died in the blaze last year.
The Brisbane Supreme Court ruling ends a seven-month legal wrangle over where the trial should be held.
The ruling means the trial will be moved from the regional city of Bundaberg to the state capital of Brisbane.
"It is critically important, in the interests of the accused, the families of the alleged victims and the public generally, that the trial commence as soon as possible," Queensland state Chief Justice Paul de Jersey told the court.
Robert Paul Long is accused of starting a fire that killed 15 people at the Palace Backpackers Hostel on June 23, last year in Childers, a farming community 190 miles north of Brisbane.
Of the 15 killed, four were Australians, six British, two Dutch, one Japanese and one South Korean. Limerick woman Julie O'Keeffe, who was 24, also died in the blaze.
Long is accused of murdering 27-year-old West Australian twins Kelly and Stacey Slarke and one count of arson.
Police have said they will wait until the two murder charges have been dealt with in court before deciding whether more charges should be brought.
