Two managers of an outback hostel in Australia which burned down in an arson attack that killed 15 guests, including Irish woman Julie O'Keeffe, yesterday refused to give evidence to an Australian coroner investigating whether the hostel should face charges.
Six Britons, four Australians, two Dutch, one Irish, one Japanese and one South Korean were killed when a fire tore through the Palace Backpackers Hostel in Childers, Queensland, on June 23, 2000.
Itinerant fruit picker Robert Paul Long was found guilty of starting the blaze. He was sentenced to life in prison in March 2002 and must serve a minimum of 20 years.
A coroner's inquest this week is hearing evidence to determine whether charges should be brought over alleged failures by the hostel's owners to provide adequate emergency escape routes. Co-managers John Thomas Dobe and Christian Verdon Atkinson refused to give evidence at the inquest on the basis that their answers could incriminate them.
The inquest has heard evidence that a faulty fire alarm was turned off, windows were barred and exits were blocked - preventing lives from being saved in the ferocious blaze.
The co-managers' lawyer, Tony Rafter, told the court his clients had already provided numerous written statements and recorded interviews with police.
State coroner Michael Barnes accepted the refusal to testify on the grounds it could be self-incriminating. "Your concern is that your clients may incriminate themselves on the basis of criminal negligence as operators of the premises?" he asked Mr Rafter, who acknowledged that was correct.
