Backpackers' families plan hostel fire lawsuit
The families of some of the backpackers who died when an arsonist set fire to an Australian hostel two years ago are to sue its managers for alleged negligence, a lawyer said today.
Fifteen young travellers were killed on June 23, 2000, when an itinerant drifter started a fire in the timber Palace Backpackers Lodge in Childers, Queensland state.
About 70 people managed to escape the inferno. Robert Paul Long, 38, was jailed for life earlier this year for arson and murder.
During his trial, the hostel’s managers admitted turning off the fire alarm system two months before the blaze after a series of malfunctions.
‘‘How anyone can operate a business like that when they have got over 80 young people in their care is beyond me,’’ said Tanja Kovac, the lawyer representing the 13 families who are bring the action.
‘‘It is not about the money. It is about ensuring that governments in Australia are going to regulate backpacker accommodation in a way that does justice to the memories of their children,’’ she added.
She said it was not clear when the lawsuit against managers John Dobe and Christian Atkinson would be filed with the courts.
Limerick native Julie O’Keefe, 24, died in the blaze.
